The United States striker at the heart of red card scandal at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, Folarin Balogun, has admitted that he knew FIFA’s decision to suspend his one-game ban at the tournament was going to create “a lot of controversy” and could see the resulting “nerves” among his team-mates.
Balogun, 25, was dismissed for serious foul play against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Last 32 and should have received an automatic suspension.
However, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee suspended his ban for a year – a decision that prompted widespread condemnation, particularly when it emerged US President Donald Trump and White House officials had lobbied football’s world governing body about the American’s sanction.
Balogun, who scored three goals at the World Cup, was able to start the USA’s Last-16 defeat by Belgium – a decision European football’s governing body UEFA called “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.
“My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team but when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to start a lot of controversy and I could almost see within my team-mates a bit of nerves because it is something that is so unique,” Balogun told CBSyesterday.
“The closer we got to the game, I focused the best I could but it was difficult. The outside noise is hard to avoid.
“My team-mates are like my brothers, they gave me a lot of reassurance. There was nothing I could do or change.”
The decision to waive Balogun’s suspension came two days before the United States were beaten 4-1 by Belgium.
Balogun found out that he could feature in the game while on the team bus, which brought “screaming and shouting” among the squad.
Given the unlikely nature of avoiding an instant suspension for a straight red card, Balogun said he had not been involved in early preparations for the game.
“It was confusing as the team was practising without me in the team. I almost played a supporting role to keep the morale high,” the Monaco striker added.
“When we found out on the team bus, everyone was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”
