US star Balogun knew red card reversal would ‘cause a lot of controversy’

The striker says FIFA’s decision to suspend his one-match ban led to ‘a lot of outside noise’ before USA’s knockout match.US striker Folarin Balogun says he expected “a lot of controversy” after FIFA suspended his one-game ban at the World Cup following United States President Donald Trump’s request to review the decision.Balogun was sent off during his team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32, but FIFA controversially suspended his ban for a one-year probationary period. The striker has spoken about the incident for the first time in an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Will the 2030 World Cup expand to 64 teams? What FIFA’s Infantino sayslist 2 of 4Argentina war vets urge focus on football for England World Cup semifinallist 3 of 4Why the England shirt feels complicated for some fans this World Cuplist 4 of 4Spain deliver masterclass to beat France 2-0 and reach World Cup finalend of list“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,” he said.“I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique.“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 received the red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic in a 2-0 win for the USA in their round-of-32 match, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.FIFA’s decision to suspend that ban – leading to Falogun playing in the game against Belgium – caused a furore in the football world, and accusations that the body bent its rules to please Trump.The global football body announced that it had suspended the red card after the US president urged FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review the case.The decision prompted criticism from Belgium’s football association, Europe’s top football body, a former FIFA boss, multiple top former players, and many others. Critics argued that overturning a red card suspension after direct political intervention undermined the integrity of the tournament and set a dangerous precedent.