FIFA Suspends Two U.S. Soccer Officials Before Belgium World Cup Match

FIFA suspended U.S. Soccer team manager Sam Zapatka and federation vice president of security Frank Pannell from attending the Round of 16 match against Belgium. FIFA did not provide details on the disciplinary action, while U.S. Soccer confirmed the suspensions were unrelated to the successful appeal that allowed forward Folarin Balogun to play after his previous red-card suspension was lifted.

The disciplinary action came before the United States’ 4-1 defeat to Belgium in Seattle, which ended the host nation’s World Cup campaign. The suspensions added to a week of controversy surrounding the match, although FIFA has not released further information on the reasons behind the staff bans.