US striker Folarin Balogun has admitted the controversy surrounding the suspension of his World Cup ban affected the USA before their last-16 defeat to Belgium.
The USA striker became the focus of one of the World Cup’s biggest controversies after FIFA overturned his automatic one-match suspension following his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The decision came after President Donald Trump confirmed it had raised concerns with FIFA over the incident, sparking widespread debate about the governing body’s handling of the case.
Speaking to CBS Mornings, Balogun admitted that the unprecedented situation had an impact on the US’s preparations.
“My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team,” he said. “But when I 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
“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 revealed the uncertainty also disrupted the team’s preparations after they had initially trained without him.
“It was confusing because the team was practising without me in the team,” he said.
“I’m almost just playing a supporting role to keep morale high.”
The Monaco forward was originally due to miss the Belgium clash after receiving a straight red card during the USA’s group-stage victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, less than 24 hours before kick-off, FIFA announced his suspension had been put on hold, allowing him to feature.
The decision sparked a significant backlash, with some questioning the circumstances surrounding the intervention.
Despite Balogun returning to the squad, the United States were beaten 4-1 by Belgium to end their World Cup campaign.
Reflecting on the incident itself, the striker maintained he never believed the challenge warranted a dismissal.
“It wasn’t even a tackle so I was totally in shock,” he said.
“I think you could see my reaction, but I just had to accept the decision and just try and be there for my team.
“When something is not intentional, it should never be a red card. It was just an unfortunate situation, and I think it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed.”
Balogun also described the emotional reaction inside the squad when they learned FIFA had suspended his ban.
“We found out on the team bus,” he said. “Everybody was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field.”
“It’s more about being able to separate the emotion from the job at hand,” Balogun explained.
“We’re all professionals, so it’s not something I think was too difficult to separate once we got over the initial announcement that I’d be back in the team.’
“But you saw definitely it was a difficult game against Belgium, and that can overshadow whether we were focused or not.’
“From me being inside the camp and inside the setup, I know we had full concentration going into the game.”
Balogun finished the tournament as the United States’ leading scorer with three goals.