An initial digestion of the news that Folarin Balogun would have his red card suspended for a one-year probationary period would easily yield some optimism on the part of USMNT fans.
But in the hours that followed, things took a nosedive in the off-pitch realm.
Whether the Royal Belgian Football Association decided to appeal the ruling or a phone call between the U.S. President himself and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, FIFA's fair-on-the-surface-level usage of Article 27 of their disciplinary code got put on thin ice and, to many, immediately and easily tarnished by the political turmoil that had engulfed the governing body and the co-hosts so many times in the lead-up to the World Cup.
Those who scream precedence and point to Cristiano Ronaldo's case may have a point, but that is undone by the controversy that has engulfed yet another edition of football's biggest tournament.
The pushback only continued in the lead-up to the Round of 16 contest against Belgium. UEFA hit back hard, with claims that the decision "crossed a red line" making up just one of the key phrases that one could pull from the European footballing government's landmark statement.
Even former FIFA President Sepp Blatter joined in on the fun (carnage?), publishing a strongly-worded statement on Twitter early Monday morning (Eastern Time).
Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo…
— Joseph S Blatter (@SeppBlatter) July 6, 2026
In all fairness to Infantino and the current FIFA administration, Blatter has his own share of controversies. But the fact that Blatter's point can be seen to ring true here means that somebody ought to be listening.
The USMNT's contest against Belgium only made things worse
Around an hour before the USMNT kicked off against Belgium, the official lineups were published for the match. Balogun was included for the USMNT.
With the noise already up to 11 outside the already-noisy Seattle Stadium (also known as Lumen Field), the attention turned to the pitch. One big catch-22 was on everyone's minds as heads turned to the pitch: even though Mauricio Pochettino and Co. chose to bring Balogun back into the lineup and give the national team the best chance possible at success, the noise created by the decision-making from both FIFA and the USMNT's management would only grow louder.
And even if Pochettino opted to leave Balogun on the bench to manage the controversy (I credit my colleague Bryan Zarpentine for this point), the ensuing noise could not only come from a different angle, but it could also encompass the entire nation if the USMNT flopped against Belgium.
Unfortunately, the decision-making had no impact on the pushback or the result of the match.
Belgium came out with all cylinders firing, with Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere giving his country the early 1-0 advantage. And even after Malik Tillmann scored yet another insane free kick goal, it would be De Ketelaere who was there to lead Belgium, scoring what would end up being the game-winning goal in the 33rd minute.
Club Brugge midfielder Hans Vanaken followed it up early in the second half, capitalizing on a blunder from New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese to score a goal that would easily infuriate Steve Dangle, while Romelu Lukaku scored for the third-consecutive game to bring Belgium's goal tally to four.
Unfortunately for the USMNT, the loss is the least of their problems
I will note that the "problems" being mentioned are not necessarily of their making.
But the "problems" on the pitch are all of their own making.
Without strings being pulled, the USMNT's performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is slightly-above-par. They won their group while scoring eight goals and they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. But that only got them back to the last 16 as a result of the tournament's expansion from 32 teams to 48. Given that they made it to the last 16 in 2022, this tournament has the feel of a "right back where we started" moment.
But with the strings being pulled? Borderline-embarassing.
Again, said strings that got Balogun reinstated for the game against Belgium weren't necessarily being pulled by U.S. Soccer. But the fact the USMNT didn't ensure this game was competitive, let alone get into position to win the game, should be a stain on what they had built since December 2022. Respective fourth and second-place finishes in the 2023 and 2025 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, in addtion to two CONCACAF Nations League titles, are all but cancelled out by the noise that surrounded the USMNT's seismic contest against Belgium.
The USMNT has to be very careful with how they proceed. Not only does their performance on the pitch have to be strong enough to give fans renewed confidence in the team, but they will also have to tread very carefully when addressing the issue now and in the future.
But then again, actions speak louder than words. In this case, at least for the time being, the actions of the White House and FIFA will speak so much louder than what the USMNT can put together in terms of results.
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