Belgium coach Rudi Garcia talks about the chat he had with Folarin Balogun after the USA game.
Belgium’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, opened up about his chat with United States striker Folarin Balogun after their exciting World Cup round of 16 match in Seattle.
Balogun started for the US on Monday night but couldn’t make a big impact as Belgium won 4-1, with goals from Charles De Ketelaere (twice), Hans Vanaken, and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku celebrated his late goal by doing Donald Trump’s famous dance to the Village People’s song “Y.M.C.A.”
Right after the game, Belgium’s social media posted a photo of Lukaku with the caption “Overturn this,” which seemed to poke fun at Balogun being allowed to play.
Before the game, FIFA had lifted Balogun’s one-match ban, which came from a red card in the US’s earlier game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This happened after US president Donald Trump asked FIFA to reconsider the decision. UEFA called FIFA’s move “incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” and Belgium’s football association said they were “astonished” by it.
Before the match, Coach Garcia made it clear how he felt. “I didn’t know that at the World Cup, July 5th was actually April Fools’ Day,” he said with a smile. “We’re not just defending the national team or federation, we’re standing up for football’s ethics and fairness.”
Despite his strong words about FIFA’s choice to overturn the red card, Garcia has no hard feelings toward Balogun. “Folarin Balogun came to talk to me,” Garcia said after the match. “I liked that. It’s not his fault, and I told him so. I appreciate him coming over.”
Balogun also spoke about the red card situation after the game. “When a decision like that is overturned, it’s bound to be controversial,” he told reporters. “It didn’t really surprise me, but as a player, I just focus on doing my job.”