SEATTLE – It was a casual Sunday morning for the U.S. men's national team, who were pulling up to the University of Washington's campus for their final training session before their World Cup round of 16 games against Belgium the following day. The speaker was on in the back of the team bus when something stood out on what would otherwise be a routine scroll through social media platforms of their choice.
"I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first," defender Chris Richards quipped.
A few hours later and in a different pocket of the city, Belgium's Rudi Garcia was also gobsmacked.
"I didn't know that July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA," he quipped.
The surprising true story they were reacting to merited the responses they gave. Four days after picking up a red card in the USMNT's round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina that ruled forward Folarin Balogun out of Monday's round of 16 clash against Belgium, the suspension was suddenly lifted. FIFA's independent disciplinary committee cited Article 27 of the disciplinary code, essentially placing the player under probation rather than forcing him to serve the suspension on Monday. It is not a rule used often, though Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo did receive a similar, but not identical, privilege during World Cup qualification. The rarity, though, does not bother Balogun's teammates all that much.
"If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all," forward Christian Pulisic said. "I felt like there was much worse ones that went on in this tournament. Again, I felt like Balo handled it so well and I think the team handled it well. We weren't here to complain … You have to handle it in a good way. Good things happen to people like that, and he was so positive and all for the team. It just feels right, I guess."
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino doubled down later on, applauding the independent body for making a decision that he ultimately believed to be a fair one.
"My reaction, I think, is like everyone that really loves [this] sport and trusts [in] ethics and integrity," he said. "I think we celebrate, all, that decision. We were punished enough against Bosnia and Herzegovina to play with 10 men, 30 minutes in a decision that was complete[ly] unfair but it's not only because I am the head coach of the U.S. men's national team and I need to defend my side … 99.9%, we all agree it was an unfair red card."
Garcia and the Royal Belgian Football Association, though, disagreed. The head coach mostly pointed towards the statement the governing body gave in response to the Balogun decision during a brief press conference on Sunday, the RBFA pointing towards several rules in FIFA's disciplinary code for this World Cup that should make a decision like this one ineligible, though it appears no formal complaint will be lodged at this time.
"The RBFA has reacted. In the interest of football," Garcia added. "The fact that Folarin Balogun is there changes nothing in my approach to the match."
Pochettino also refused to address the fact that U.S.. president Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino before Balogun was placed on probation, saying he did not have time to check social media in between the decision being made public and arriving to his mid-afternoon press conference. He did name-drop U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson as someone who was involved in conversations with FIFA about Balogun's red card but did not specify what role Batson played in the proceedings.
Balogun has started three of the USMNT's four games at the World Cup so far, only sitting out the 3-2 loss to Turkiye after Pochettino rotated heavily for a dead-rubber match. He is in line to return to the lineup on Monday, though the team did prepare for life without him in between the win on Wednesday and Sunday's breaking news. U.S. Soccer was engaged in talks with the disciplinary body about the potential reversal of the suspension and ultimately received the news through official channels before Sunday's training session began, their final one before the game against Belgium.
"The team would've been ready without him," Pulisic noted, the team likely preparing for forward Ricardo Pepi to slot into Balogun's place before Sunday's announcement. "We have guys that can step up, there's no doubt about it. Obviously we weren't sure that this would happen, so it changes things, but we were prepared."
Balogun did not speak to members of the media on Sunday but trained as usual with the team in the build-up to Monday's game, his reserved but professional demeanor clear to see days after admitting the Bosnia and Herzegovina match felt like a "rollercoaster" of emotions between scoring the opening goal and picking up the red card.
"I think he's keeping it cool right now. I think he was still nervous about if it was true or not, but I think he's very excited," Richards said about Balogun's reaction to the news. "He was just enjoying the post-July 4 celebrations that we had and just enjoying being American."
Now the focus shifts to the task at hand.
"For him, it's time to work," defender Alex Freeman said. "Obviously he found out he can play but now it's how can he stay mentally prepared to be able to go out tomorrow and perform and still put out his momentum and actions he's had."
