United States President Donald Trump controversially helped get Folain Balogun, the United States Men’s National Team’s leading goal scorer in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, reinstated for the U.S.’s round of 16 match against Belgium after he was issued a red card in the round of 32.
Unfortunately, Balogun’s presence wasn’t nearly enough, as the USMNT lost 3-1 to the Belgian squad on an evening where it was outplayed on the field from start to finish. Leading up to and following the embarassing loss, debate raged on whether Trump had done the right thing in meddling with FIFA to get Balogun back on the pitch, with some U.S. fans feeling the integrity of the tournament was compromised.
You can count Hollywood actress Rosie O’Donnell among those who felt the President had no right to get involved in the situation.
“The fact that he called up FIFA and had the penalty revoked for the American team and America was like, ‘Yeah, that’s good! I didn’t think it was a red card anyway!’ Well, you’re not the freakin’ ref! You don’t get to decide!” O’Donnell said in an interview with Variety.
“Since when does he get to make and change the rules, the goalposts, whatever metaphor you want to use, and everyone just sits by and shrugs their shoulders? There’s so much (corruption) that we don’t even notice it.”
O’Donnell was disappointed that Balogun decided to take the pitch even with his eligibility reinstated.
“The fact that (Balogun) did not say, ‘I will not play this game,’ and the fact that the coach of the American team did not say, ‘This is not how we win,’ and that everyone was just like, ‘Well, whatever!’ I was horrified.”
Balogun lamented his role in all of this
For his part, Balogun did express remorse after the match, both to Belgium’s coach and the U.S.’s fans.
“My debut World Cup… it hurts to wait 4 years to compete at the highest level our sport has to offer. I want to say sorry to our fans it was not good enough when it mattered most and we let you down,” Balogun wrote in a post on social media.
“Soccer in America will only become bigger the belief, the talent, and the passion is continually growing and I know the best days are in front of us, the future belongs to those who never stop believing, this moment will fuel us.
“We will be back,” he added. “Why not us? For the nation. For the flag.”
“He came to talk to me. I really liked that. It is not his fault; he is not the one to blame, and that’s what I told him,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told reporters after the match. “I really appreciate the intention that he came to see me. I appreciate this player.”
Source: The Comeback
