Balogun Says He Had No Role in Getting His Red Card Overturned. Trump Disagrees on Who Called Whom.

Folarin Balogun played against Belgium on Monday. He probably shouldn’t have. And now everyone is fighting about why he did.

The USMNT forward saw a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina get overturned in time for the knockout round match. The automatic one-game ban was suspended. Balogun was on the field. The US lost 4-1 anyway. But the real story is how that suspension got lifted and who was involved.

Balogun himself made it clear after the match that he wasn’t the one making phone calls.

“Of course, it’s controversial when the decision is overturned,” Balogun told reporters. “We accepted the decision when I saw the red card, and we accepted the decision when we were told I could play. I was not involved in the process. It had nothing to do with me personally.”

That part might be true. But Donald Trump said he personally lobbied FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the call. The White House confirmed as much. That puts the whole thing in a weird political light that FIFA keeps trying to step away from.

FIFA insists the decision came from its independent disciplinary committee using Article 27 of its own code. That article allows for discretionary suspension of disciplinary measures. But Article 66.4 of the same rulebook says a sending-off automatically triggers a next-match ban. So you can see why people are confused.

The committee cited “specific circumstances” for applying Article 27 in Balogun’s case. They did not explain what those circumstances were. That’s a problem, because now every team whose player gets a red card this World Cup is going to point at this and ask for the same treatment. The English FA is reportedly already looking into whether it can challenge Jarell Quansah’s red card against Mexico using the same logic.

UEFA came out swinging on Monday, saying FIFA had “crossed a red line” with the Balogun ruling. FIFA hit back by pointing out that European leagues overturn red cards all the time. Which is true, technically, but also kind of misses the point. This is a World Cup. The optics are different.

Balogun walked over to Belgium coach Rudi Garcia after the final whistle to congratulate him. Garcia appreciated the gesture.

“He came to me, I liked that,” Garcia said. “He’s not to blame. He didn’t do anything wrong. I respect him.”

The Belgian federation hasn’t said whether it considers the matter closed. Its appeal was dismissed earlier Monday. That might not be the end of it.

US coach Mauricio Pochettino was clearly frustrated after the loss but tried to keep the focus on the game itself.

“It didn’t affect our performance. It’s not an excuse. It wasn’t our day,” Pochettino said. “But in a personal way, what is the point to insult or receive a lot of bad messages? It’s a rule for the federation to apply and to try. My position was to train the team. If Balogun is available because FIFA allow for you to have the player, it’s not a problem.”

Then he went further.

“I feel disappointed with too many people. They put politics and manipulation, talk about ethics and integrity first. If we talk about the history of this game, I am disappointed in a personal way.”

The ball is back in FIFA’s court. The committee stood by its call. But the rulebook has two conflicting articles, the U.S. president was involved, and the world governing body now has to deal with every red card for the rest of the tournament getting challenged on precedent. That’s a mess that doesn’t clean up easily.