The USMNT will, barring the unlikely success of a last-minute desperation appeal by the Royal Belgian Football Association, have Folarin Balogun available tonight for the clash with Belgium in the Round of 16 at the World Cup. It is a stunning turn of events, given that Balogun was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina for a controversial red card that carries an ejection and a one-game ban.

This entire situation has been a controversial, unprecedented whirlwind, with FIFA’s corruption and controversy taking center stage once again. Ultimately, though, the decision to allow Balogun to play is the right one, even if the process has been entirely wrong at almost every step of the way.

Folarin Balogun’s US Return is Right, But the Process is All Wrong

Remember in school when your teachers would ask you to show your work on a math problem? That’s what the world is doing to FIFA right now. They have come to the decision that Folarin Balogun should be able to play for the USMNT against Belgium tonight, invoking the catch-all Article 27 that allows them to basically do whatever they want with bans.

It was used for a few players at this very World Cup, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, who had his three-game sentence suspenced after one game so that he would be eligible to play every game in what is the final World Cup run of his illustrious career. Balogun is not the first, just the latest, to benefit from the controversial Article 27.

And ultimately, allowing Balogun to play after the incomprehensible and incorrect decision to send him off in the first place against Bosnia is the right decision. FIFA got the right answer, but without showing their work, it’s clear they used the wrong formula to get here.

Here’s a recap of everything wrong with how this came about:

• Folarin Balogun was shown a red card after a VAR review for a play that wasn’t even ruled a foul by the on-field referee
• The VAR used slow-motion and still images to make the call, which are prohibited in plays like this and only to be used to determine if a player got the ball before making contact, which wasn’t in question here
• There is no appeals process for any nation, so teams are at the whim of referees who, with all due respect, are often wrong
• The automatic suspension means that the lack of an appeals process stings further, giving teams no recourse for injustice
• Donald Trump and the White House reportedly called and put pressure on FIFA to review the foul
• The decision to put Balogun on probation but allow him to play came a little over 24 hours before the match, giving teams little time to adjust
• FIFA decided to allow Belgium to appeal, but there’s no timetable for a decision. It may not even happen before the match

So, to recap, Folarin Balogun was sent off for a foul that shouldn’t have been a red card after VAR used the wrong protocols to make the decision, the USMNT were not allowed to appeal, Donald Trump got involved and may have convinced FIFA to reinstate Balogun, the Belgians were allowed to appeal that decision, and there’s no timetable for a decision.

It remains highly unlikely that Belgium’s appeal will be accepted. In essence, the decision was made and appealed already by FIFA. This Belgian challenge is what amounts to an appeal of an appeal. The decision was overturned, and it would make little sense to overturn it a second time mere hours before kickoff.

Another thing to note is that it’s a little ridiculous that a player’s red card carries an automatic one-game suspension. It’s the equivalent of a Flagrant 2 in the NBA or an ejection in the NFL, but it’s already worse than those calls without the extra ban.

A Flagrant 2 is an automatic ejection, but there’s no extra suspension. An ejection in the NFL for personal fouls doesn’t carry further penalty after the game ends. With a red card, the player’s team must be down a man for the rest of the match and without him for another game minimum? That’s far too harsh, except in situations when the game is mostly already over and being down a man doesn’t hurt.

And while it is wholly understandable that Belgium is very upset about this (we would be too if a suspended Belgian star was reinstated for this match), it doesn’t exactly give them a leg up. Belgium is still the better team, and they’re ranked a few spots ahead in FIFA’s rankings. It’s not really giving the USMNT an advantage. It’s simply keeping them at even strength.

And that, given all we know about the faulty nature of the red card and the process that led to it, is the right outcome. It just took a billion wrongs to make a right. It’s a bad look, certainly, but the USMNT deserved to have Folarin Balogun on the pitch. Now, unless this unprecedented journey takes another shocking twist, they will.