Trump Called FIFA. Now Balogun Says It Cost Team the World Cup

When Folarin Balogun got a red card in the U.S. men’s World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, soccer fans across the country lost it. The call looked questionable at best—a penalty that would’ve benched one of the team’s best players right when they needed him most.

Then President Donald Trump stepped in. He contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino with a request to take another look at the controversial suspension. And FIFA listened. The organization tossed the ban, replacing it with a one-year probationary period, and Balogun was cleared to play in the knockout stage against Belgium.

But here’s the twist nobody saw coming: Balogun says that intervention might’ve backfired spectacularly.

During an appearance on CBS Mornings on Tuesday, the striker was honest about the emotional whiplash. His initial reaction? Relief and gratitude at getting another shot. But that feeling evaporated almost immediately.“When I kind of started to reflect I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,”he explained,“and I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves’cause it’s something that is so unique.”

The noise was impossible to tune out. As game day approached, Balogun tried to lock in mentally, but the magnitude of what had happened—a U.S. president personally intervening in a soccer decision—created a distraction that rippled through the entire squad.“A lot of outside noise and that’s hard to avoid,”he said.

The result? The U.S. got demolished by Belgium 4-1, ending their World Cup run in the Round of 16. Whether that loss happens with Balogun on the bench instead of the field—a question with no answer—might haunt this team forever. Sometimes the best outcome on paper isn’t the best outcome in practice.