Topline
Belgium defeated the U.S. men’s national soccer team 4-1 in their Round of 16 game at the FIFA World Cup on Monday, knocking out the hosts from the tournament—as the team said they were fueled by the controversy over FIFA’s decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension after a push by President Donald Trump.
Key Facts
Belgian captain Youri Tielemans told the country’s public broadcaster RTBF that the team held a meeting after hearing about Balogun’s red card decision and decided “we needed to do our talking on the pitch.”
In a post-game interview, Belgium’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said his team had been shown a “lack of respect” in the U.S. in recent days and heard that they could be beaten “easily.”
Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin told reporters that the game’s outcome showed there’s “always a justice somewhere in life,” and said the red card controversy was not fair to his team.
However, Belgium’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, who mocked FIFA on Sunday, downplayed the effect of the controversy, saying it wasn’t needed as a motivator for his team and “what really mattered to us is our game plan.”
Garcia said he spoke with Balogun and told the U.S. striker that the controversy was not his fault, “he’s not the one to blame.”
With their win Belgium move forward into the quarter finals where they will face Spain, while the American team’s exit means all three World Cup hosts—U.S., Canada and Mexico—are now out of the tournament.
tangent
The Belgian team’s official X account celebrated the team’s win with a pair of mocking posts. The first one read: “It’s called FOOTBALL,” with the word “soccer” struck through. The other one featured a photo of striker Romelu Lukaku after he scored Belgium’s fourth goal with the caption “Overturn this.” Some fans also pointed out that Lukaku and the team celebrated their final goal by mimicking Trump’s signature YMCA jig.
How has the U.s. team reacted?
The U.S. men’s national team’s manager Mauricio Pochettino was asked about the effect the Balogun red card controversy had on his team. He said: “It’s difficult to make a comment. We were not good enough today, we don’t need to find another excuse. It wasn’t a situation that affected us in the group…Belgium were better than us. That’s it. It’s very clear.”
key background
Balogun, the U.S. team’s leading goalscorer in this tournament, was initially set to sit out the knockout game against Belgium after being handed a controversial red card in the previous game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Red cards are issued for egregious fouls or misconduct and automatically result in a one-game ban. But in a surprise move, FIFA’s disciplinary committee announced that Balogun will be allowed to take part in the Round of 16 contest against Belgium. While the disciplinary committee can’t technically overturn the red card, their ruling suspended the one-game ban on Balogun and imposed a one-year probationary period. After the suspension was lifted, reports emerged that President Donald Trump had personally spoken with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on this matter. This triggered condemnation and outrage from the Belgian team, European soccer official, pundits and other former players.
what had trump said about fifa’s decision?
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump claimed he was the one who got FIFA to lift Balogun’s suspension after calling Infantino. Trump also attacked the referee who gave Balogun the red card, even as he acknowledged having no previous knowledge of what a red card meant. Infantino, who has courted a close relationship with Trump, however, insisted that the president’s intervention did not play a role in the ruling and said the disciplinary body “decide cases based on their applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”
further reading
FIFA Rejects Belgium’s Appeal — Says Balogun Can Play Tonight (Forbes)
Trump Spoke With FIFA President Before Folarin Balogun’s Red Card Was Suspended, Report Says (Forbes)
Source: Forbes
