Folarin Balogun admits Trump’s ‘unique’ World Cup intervention affected US team before Belgium loss

USA striker Folarin Balogun has admitted he anticipated significant backlash following President Donald Trump ’s intervention in overturning his World Cup suspension, stating he knew it would "cause a lot of controversy”. The Monaco forward received a red card during the United States’ round-of-32 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, Fifa ’s disciplinary committee subsequently suspended the one-match ban for a year, enabling Balogun to feature in the USA’s last-16 defeat by Belgium. The incident quickly propelled Balogun into the centre of a heated debate. This week, human rights organisation FairSquare lodged a formal complaint with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), alleging that Fifa president Gianni Infantino violated rules on political neutrality through his interactions with President Trump , who had publicly acknowledged his personal intervention on behalf of Balogun and the US co-hosts. Speaking to CBS, Balogun reflected on the immediate aftermath: "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, and I could almost see within my team-mates a bit of nerves, because it’s something that is so unique." He added: "But 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 sent off against Bosnia but got his ban suspended (PA Wire) The Arsenal academy product continues to insist that the red card he received for a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic was an incorrect decision. "I was in shock," he stated. "It wasn’t even a tackle. I was totally in shock, I think you could see my reaction, but I just had to accept the decision and just try to be there for my team." Balogun concluded: "When something’s not intentional it should never be a red card, so it was just an unfortunate situation, and I think it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed." FairSquare contends that Mr Infantino, who joined the IOC in 2020, has repeatedly violated the Olympic Charter and the IOC’s code of ethics, citing his involvement in the Folarin Balogun affair as the most recent instance. Adding to the controversy, The Times has reported that Mohammad Al Kamali, the disciplinary committee chair, made the crucial decision to suspend the ban unilaterally – a move reportedly unprecedented in his published disciplinary history. Fifa, for its part, has yet to offer any explanation for the suspension of the ban. Trump contacted Infantino to attempt to get Balogun’s ban overturned (Getty) FairSquare’s complaint outlines five explicit breaches of the IOC’s political neutrality rules, alongside ‘prima facie’ evidence of two additional serious violations, specifically referencing the handling of the Balogun case. A similar complaint was filed by FairSquare with Fifa’s ethics committee in December. While the organisation confirmed receipt of their complaint, no further information has been provided. Last month, the Norwegian football federation formally requested that Fifa’s ethics committee consider FairSquare’s complaint. Furthermore, on 29 June, fifty Members of the European Parliament wrote to the same committee, urging it to address the allegations made by FairSquare. Both Fifa and the IOC have been approached for comment regarding these allegations.