Sport4 min(s) read
Published 10:35 08 Jul 2026 GMT
Folarin Balogun has broken his silence after USA was kicked out of the World Cup days after the infamous red card U-turn.
The USMNT striker was at the center of one of the tournament's biggest talking points after being shown a red card during the team's round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Although the dismissal originally carried a one-match suspension, President Donald Trump admitted that he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and a committee conducted an intervention that later delayed the ban.
FIFA then allowed the 25-year-old to feature in the USA's last-16 clash against Belgium.
Before the match, the Royal Belgian Football Association said they were "astonished" by FIFA’s decision to delay Balogun’s suspension.
"In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options," they said in a statement.
Their appeal was dismissed by the governing body, with a disciplinary committee ruling that Belgium was not an interested party as they were not involved in the incident in question.
Despite the controversy, Belgium had the final say on the pitch, defeating the United States 4-1 to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Following the victory, the team could be seen celebrating by doing an impression of the "Trump dance," which went viral during the 2024 US presidential campaign.
The official Instagram account also posted a picture of Romelu Lukaku, the player who scored the 4th goal, cupping his ear, with the savage caption: "Overturn this."
The 25-year-old took to Instagram on Tuesday (July 7) to share an emotional statement with his 905K followers.
"My debut World Cup… it hurts to wait 4 years to compete at the highest level our sport has to offer. I want to say sorry to our fans it was not good enough when it mattered most and we let you down," he penned.
"Soccer in America will only become bigger the belief, the talent, and the passion is continually growing, and I know the best days are in front of us, the future belongs to those who never stop believing, this moment will fuel us. We will be back," he continued. "Why not us?
"For the nation. For the flag," he concluded, adding an eagle and USA flag emoji.
After the match, Balogun approached Belgium manager Rudi Garcia, a gesture the coach said he greatly appreciated.
"He came to talk to me. I really liked that. It is not his fault; he is not the one to blame, and that’s what I told him," Garcia told reporters.
Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also addressed the controversy, saying his side had used the criticism surrounding them as motivation.
"In recent days, we have been shown a lack of respect here in the U.S. It was said that they could beat us easily, but I think today we proved that we are a good team. We played a great match," he said.
Courtois also dismissed suggestions that the Balogun saga had any impact on his team's performance.
"Everything beforehand did not necessarily play a part. I read it and laughed about it. Today, if I'm honest, I felt a bit more certain that we would win than I did against Senegal," he said. "They were a stronger team than the U.S., and that showed today as well."
After advancing past the co-hosts, Belgium will take on Spain in the quarter-finals in Los Angeles on Friday.
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