Belgium Players Admit Balogun Ban U-turn Fuelled World Cup Win Over USA

Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin has revealed the squad felt a “sense of injustice” after FIFA suspended United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban just before their World Cup last-16 clash.

NEWSNGR reports that Balogun had been expected to miss the match in Seattle after receiving a straight red card for a challenge on Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.

However, FIFA overturned the automatic suspension on Sunday, delaying the ban for 12 months. The decision drew criticism from UEFA, as well as from Belgium and England manager Thomas Tuchel. Later, US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had personally asked FIFA to review the case.

Despite Balogun being cleared to play and starting for the hosts, Belgium cruised into the quarter-finals with a convincing 4-1 win.

“A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days,” said Raskin.

“There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.”

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said the controversy only strengthened the team’s resolve.

“We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That’s what we did,” he said.

Belgium’s celebrations also appeared to carry a message. After scoring their fourth goal, several players performed a dance resembling the ‘Trump dance’, while the national team’s official Instagram account posted a picture of Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption, ‘overturn this’.

Head coach Rudi Garcia revealed Balogun approached him after the final whistle and praised the striker’s gesture.

“I really liked that,” he said. “It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame and that’s what I told him.”

Garcia also insisted the controversy never distracted his players from their objective.

“Regardless of the US starting line-up, what really mattered to us is our game plan,” he said.

“The group is very mature. I told them what matters the most is us.”