U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun admitted Tuesday that his overturned red card affected his teammates ahead of their loss to Belgium in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
Balogun was issued a red card and a suspension following a call during the Americans’ first knockout-round match, a victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
He was booted for the rest of that game and was to miss the next game against Belgium.
After President Trump called FIFA head Gianni Infantino, Balogun was told he could play against Belgium after all.
The red card — and Mr. Trump’s subsequent involvement — created a media firestorm.
Many American fans cheered the red card retraction after a punishment they saw as inflated.
On the other side, UEFA and human rights group FairSquare expressed concerns about potential wrongdoing.
Balogun heard it all.
“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,” Balogun told CBS. “And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves, because it’s something that is so unique.”
The Brooklyn-born forward, who otherwise plays for Monaco in France’s Ligue 1, ultimately did not score in Team USA’s 4-1 tournament-ending defeat.
“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,” he said.
Balogun and Mr. Trump have both said they don’t believe the original foul was deserving of a red card. FIFA’s video assistant referee issued the booking after a replay review.
“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,” Balogun said.
FIFA has not issued an official explanation detailing the decision behind Balogun’s red card.
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