Belgium couldn’t resist piling on the misery for the United States following their dominant World Cup victory on Monday.
The Belgians thrashed Mauricio Pochettino’s side 4-1 in the Round of 16 in Seattle following days of controversy.
The USA’s World Cup heartbreak came after their tournament was marred at the weekend when it emerged that Donald Trump had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the one-match ban handed to American star Folarin Balogun.
The striker had been shown a red card during the USA’s Round of 32 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week, which should have resulted in a suspension for the clash against Belgium.
Yet, despite fierce protests from the Belgian football federation and UEFA, FIFA cleared Balogun to start Monday night’s game.
However, ultimately, the intervention proved pointless as the USA suffered defeat with Balogun failing to find the back of the net.
Belgium could not resist mocking the USA after Florian Balogun’s red card controversy
The Belgians thrashed Mauricio Pochettino’s side 4-1 in the World Cup Round of 16 in Seattle
And Belgium seized the chance to ruthlessly mock the US over the controversy and subsequent defeat with a brutal social media post.
Within 20 minutes of the final whistle, the Red Devils’ X account posted, ‘Overturn this,’ alongside a photo of Romelu Lukaku celebrating scoring the team’s fourth goal in the final minutes of the game.
It was a savage nod to FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban at the apparent behest of the President.
To add insult to injury, Belgium’s stars performed the ‘Trump dance’ – the hand-jerking, hip-shimmying moves made famous by the President during his 2024 election campaign – following Lukaku’s goal.
The Red Devils were seen on the broadcast gathering in a circle at the goalline and mimicking the moves following the stoppage-time strike.
Belgium had launched an appeal on Sunday shortly after FIFA’s verdict on Balogun’s fate had been announced.
However, FIFA had rejected their appeal on Monday just hours before the Round-of-16 clash kicked off.
Belgian bosses ominously suggested that the decision ‘leaves all further actions open’ if Balogun was named on the United States team sheet, which he ultimately was, making Pochettino’s Starting XI.
After the final whistle, the Red Devils’ posted a savage dig at Balogun’s suspended ban
The striker’s one-match ban had been suspended after Donald Trump’s intervention
In a statement, the Belgian FA said: ‘The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) has received the decision of the FIFA Appeal Committee, signed by its member Mr Salman Al-Ansari, which declares the RBFA’s case inadmissible and confirms the earlier decision allowing United States player Folarin Balogun to play.
‘To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure id est a copy of the decision and the motivation declaring the player eligible as well as the referee’s report. Which is a breach of FIFA regulations.
They added that: ‘The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the eligibility of the player, should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open.’
According to sources close to the team, Belgium are considering taking legal action and referring the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Moments after Sunday’s announcement, President Trump , who has become close friends with Infantino, wrote: ‘Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP.’
White House sources confirmed to the Daily Mail that Trump took the extraordinary step of reaching out to Infantino, ahead of FIFA’s staggering decision to suspend the ban, before the President confirmed the news himself at a Monday press conference.
‘Yeah, I did, I spoke to Gianni. I asked for a review by FIFA,’ Trump said. ‘That’s all I did. And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to crash into each other.
‘He (Balogun) didn’t do anything wrong, and he’s our best player, or one of our best players, a very vital player and they gave him a red card. I didn’t think it meant much. Then I started hearing that it means you can’t play in the next game, at least in the next game.
Trump confirmed on Monday that he had phoned FIFA President Gianni Infantino
Following Trump’s admission that he had called up Infantino over the matter, the FIFA chief offered clarity over the matter through another statement on Monday.
He said: ‘Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues.
‘During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.’
However, Belgium boss Rudi Garcia offered a brutal assessment on the matter during a press conference later in the day.
He said: ‘I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th July is now April 1st and is now April Fool’s Day. We are defending football – its ethics and history. It’s the first time in WC history that such a decision has been taken…’
When asked about allegations that Trump influenced FIFA’s decision, Garcia added: ‘Don’t waste your time talking about that… if you have any football questions we will answer that but for the rest please go to the [FA].’
