United States striker Folarin Balogun says he knew Fifa’s decision to suspend his one-game ban at the World Cup was going to create “a lot of controversy” and could see the resulting “nerves” among his team-mates.
Balogun was sent off during his team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32. 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. The striker has spoken about the incident for the first time in an interview on Tuesday.
“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 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.”
The head of Fifa’s disciplinary committee refused to answer questions about the decision-making process which led to Balogun avoiding a ban. Fifa president Gianni Infantino has previously denied having influence over disciplinary decisions.
The USA lost 1-4 to Belgium, with Balogun struggling to influence the game, following a fine overall tournament in which he scored three goals.
