Folarin Balogun knew ban overturn would ‘cause a lot of controversy’, says it impacted USMNT teammates

U.S. men’s national team forward Folarin Balogun said he knew that his red card suspension being overturned would “cause a lot of controversy” during the World Cup and said he could see it impact his teammates ahead of the round-of-16 loss to Belgium.

“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun told CBS Mornings, when asked about FIFA’s decision. “And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves. Because it is something that is so unique. The closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise and that’s hard to avoid.”

Balogun was given a straight red card after landing on the back of Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s leg while tussling to get into position for a lofted pass from U.S. left back Antonee Robinson. No foul was given on the play, but the video assistant referee called for a review. Referee Raphael Claus then gave a red card for a “serious foul.”

The forward, who was born in New York, but raised in London, said he was “in shock” at the decision.

“It wasn’t even a tackle,” Balogun said. “I was totally in shock, I think you could see in my reaction. I just had to accept the decision and just try to be there for my team.

“When something is not intentional, it should never be a red card. It was just an unfortunate situation and it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed.”

Balogun’s challenge on Muharemovic sparked one of the World Cup’s biggest controversies. (Michael Steele / Getty Images)

Despite there being no formal appeal process to overturn the red card, U.S. Soccer put together a case for FIFA to suspend the ban. FIFA’s decision became enormously controversial when U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged in comments from the Oval Office that he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the decision.

“All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, you have to do this,” Trump said at a White House media briefing. “This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great. I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field.”

Balogun was reinstated to play one day before the game against Belgium. The U.S. players found out via media reports on their phones while on the bus on the way to training at the University of Washington.

Suddenly, the team’s star forward was eligible to be selected for the knockout game.

“It was confusing because the team is practicing without me being in the team,” Balogun said. “I’m almost just playing a supporting role to try and keep the morale high and then think it was a day or two days before kick-off I get told I am back in the team. We found out on the team bus, everybody was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”

Balogun said the team was “able to separate the emotion from the job at hand,” ahead of the Belgium game. The U.S., though, was overwhelmed by a Belgium team that was galvanized by the FIFA decision. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said the Belgian federation’s appeal of the decision was “defending football in general,” and midfielder Youri Tielemans said the players held a team meeting after the news and were determined to respond on the field.

Balogun and the USMNT exited the tournament after defeat by Belgium. (David Ramos / Getty Images)

Belgium beat the U.S., 4-1, the country’s second worst loss in a round of 16 game.

“It was a difficult game against Belgium and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not,” Balogun said. “From me being inside the camp and inside the setup, I know we had full concentration going into the game.”

The loss halted all momentum the U.S. built up previously in the tournament with wins over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia. While it looked like their success might help push the sport forward, the overwhelming defeat in front of a television audience of more than 50 million people undoubtedly hurt the cause.

Still, Balogun said he felt they had reached new fans.

“It was amazing to be a part of it,” he said. “I really felt we was able to unite the country. That was an aspiration of mine and the team before we set out, and I definitely felt that. I think you could see how many fans and how many young kids really were captured by it. As I said, that’s a very special feeling to be a part of that.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that the U.S. team’s loss to Belgium was the worst loss by the U.S. Men’s National Team in a round of 16 World Cup game. It was the second-most lopsided loss. The U.S. lost to Italy 7-1 in a 1934 round of 16 game. The article has been corrected.