The striker said FIFA’s decision to suspend his one-match ban caused “a lot of noise from outside” ahead of the USA final.
Published July 15, 2026
American striker Folarin Balogun said he expected “a lot of controversy” after FIFA suspended a one-match World Cup ban following President Donald Trump’s request to review the decision.
Balogun was sent off during his team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32, but FIFA controversially suspended him with a one-year suspended sentence. Stryker spoke about the incident for the first time in an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday.
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“My first reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started thinking about it a little bit, I realized that this was going to cause a lot of controversy,” he said.
“I could see some of my teammates were a little nervous because it was so unique.
“But as the game got closer, I tried to concentrate as much as possible. But it was difficult. There was a lot of outside noise and it was difficult to avoid it.”
Balogun received an automatic one-game suspension after receiving a red card for awkwardly stepping on the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Mujaremović during the Americans’ 2-0 win in the Round of 32.
FIFA’s decision to suspend Falogun’s suspension, allowing him to play against Belgium, caused an uproar in the soccer world, sparking accusations that FIFA had bent the rules to please President Trump.
The international soccer federation said it had put the red card on hold after the US president urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to reconsider the matter.
The decision sparked criticism from the Belgian Football Association, Europe’s top soccer body, a former FIFA president, several former top players and many others. Critics argued that overturning a red card suspension after direct political interference undermined the integrity of the competition and set a dangerous precedent.
Mr. Balogun admitted that the story had caused a confusing few days for him. It turned out that after the red card, he played a supporting role in training to boost team morale and was subsequently cleared to play.
“I found out on the team bus and it was like everyone was screaming,” Balogun said. “The bus ride to the practice range was quite difficult.”
The US striker said it wasn’t difficult to separate his “emotions from the job at hand” ahead of the game against Belgium.
“We are all professionals, so I don’t think it will be that difficult to part ways once we get over the initial announcement of returning to the team to a certain extent,” Balogun added.
The United States lost 4-1 to Belgium, and although Balogun scored three goals and had a good overall performance in the tournament, he was unable to make an impact on the game.
