FIFA has dismissed Belgium's appeal against the decision permitting American forward Folarin Balogun to feature in this evening's World Cup knockout fixture in Seattle.
The FIFA Appeal Committee, with the ruling signed by member Salman Al-Ansari, deemed the Belgian case inadmissible whilst upholding the original verdict that cleared the 25-year-old striker.
The Royal Belgian Football Association confirmed it had received the committee's decision but remains without any justification for the ruling.
"To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure," the Belgian FA stated.
Belgium have notified US Soccer that they contest Balogun's eligibility should he appear on tonight's teamsheet.
The Belgian FA has accused FIFA of deliberately engineering an inadmissible appeal process.
According to the RBFA, after discovering FIFA's decision through media reports, they wrote requesting documentation and an explanation of the procedure followed.
"As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal," the Belgian FA said.
The association pointed out that FIFA's own rules require a reasoned decision to be communicated before any appeal can be valid.
Belgium also alleged that FIFA removed discussion of automatic player suspensions from the pre-match coordination meeting, despite this being standard practice for all previous fixtures.
Belgium manager Rudi Garcia delivered a withering assessment of the affair during his pre-match press conference.
"I didn't know that at the World Cup the 5th July is now April 1st and is now April Fool's Day," Garcia remarked.
The Belgian boss insisted his side were standing up for the sport's fundamental values.
"We are defending football its ethics and history. It's the first time in WC history that such a decision has been taken," he added.
When journalists pressed him on allegations that Donald Trump had influenced FIFA's ruling, Garcia refused to engage.
"Don't waste your time talking about that if you have any football questions we will answer that but for the rest please go to the [FA]," he responded.
Balogun received his marching orders during the USA's group stage victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on 1 July after a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
The incident sparked controversy after it emerged that President Trump had personally telephoned FIFA president Gianni Infantino regarding the one-match suspension.
Infantino acknowledged the call but maintained that FIFA's judicial bodies operate independently and reach decisions based on regulations and facts before them.
FIFA subsequently suspended Balogun's ban for a probationary period of one year under article 27 of their Disciplinary Code.
Belgian FA president Pascale Van Damme, herself a FIFA Council member, travelled to Seattle on Sunday as discussions continued.
Belgium are reportedly exploring legal avenues, including a potential referral to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
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