Folarin Balogun: Trump's FIFA Call Negatively Affected Team

US soccer star Folarin Balogun admitted he was initially happy when his red card suspension was overturned, but the joy quickly turned to concern. In an interview on CBS Mornings, the US national team striker revealed he saw nervousness among his teammates due to the unusual intervention of President Donald Trump in FIFA affairs.

Balogun explained that his first reaction was positive, but then he realized the situation would cause a lot of controversy. According to him, there was tension in the team, and the outside noise was hard to ignore. As a result, the US lost to Belgium 4-1 and was eliminated from the World Cup.

The scandal erupted over a red card Balogun received in the second half of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina (US won 2-0). Under the rules, the player would have missed the decisive match against Belgium, but fans considered the dismissal unfair.

Then US President Donald Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asked to review the decision. FIFA overturned the suspension, replacing it with a one-year probation period, and Balogun was able to play. However, the footballer himself believes this could have had negative consequences for the team.

Experts note that such political intervention in sports decisions is a rare case that set a precedent. It sparked a strong reaction in the global football community: some supported the decision, others condemned it, citing violations of fair play principles.

The question remains: would the match result have been different if Trump had not intervened and Balogun had missed the game? We may never know the answer, but this story has already gone down in World Cup history.