Folarin Balogun opens up about red card controversy with a honest confession
For the first time, U.S. striker Folarin Balogun has opened up about FIFA’s surprising decision to lift his red card suspension just before Monday’s World Cup round of 16 game against Belgium. Balogun played for Mauricio Pochettino’s team in their 4-1 loss to Belgium, only days after FIFA paused the one-match ban he was supposed to serve from the last-16 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
FIFA used Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code, which lets them delay enforcing a previous punishment. But many people weren’t happy with this choice. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said they were “astonished,” and UEFA called it “crossing a red line,” calling the move “incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”
Even with the change, the U.S. couldn’t move forward as Belgium’s Charles De Ketelaere (2 goals), Hans Vanaken, and Romelu Lukaku led a strong 4-1 win.
After the game, Balogun spoke about the red card situation. “When a decision gets overturned, it’s always going to cause some debate,” he told reporters. “So, it didn’t really surprise me. But as a player, I just focus on doing my job.”
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia shared that Balogun came to talk to him after the match and said there were no hard feelings. “Flo Balogun came to speak with me, and I appreciated that. It’s not his fault, and I told him so,” Garcia said.
After Lukaku scored Belgium’s final goal in stoppage time to make it 4-1, some Belgium players mimicked President Trump’s famous dance move from his campaign, the “Y.M.C.A.” dance by the Village People. Belgium’s official Twitter account @BelRedDevils also posted a picture of Lukaku celebrating with the caption: “Overturn this.”