World Cup 2026: ‘A sense of injustice’ – Belgium say Trump move fired them up

Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin said his team felt a “sense of injustice” over US forward Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension, which was suspended by FIFA shortly before the World Cup last 16 match.

Balogun, 25, appeared certain to miss the tie in Seattle after receiving a direct red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.

But on Sunday FIFA suspended the automatic single-match ban for 12 months, sparking widespread criticism; Among those opposing the decision were UEFA, Belgium and England coach Thomas Tuchel.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said he had asked FIFA to review Balogun’s ban, saying it would leave a “huge stain” on the tournament.

However, despite the American star striker being allowed to play and starting the match, Belgium managed to win the tournament, beating the hosts 4-1.

“A lot has happened off the field in the last two days,” said Belgium and Rangers midfielder Raskin.

“There was a sense of injustice within the team and we were determined to fight back on the pitch.”

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans insisted the incident had strengthened his side.

“We told ourselves we had to respond on the ground. That’s what we did,” he said.

After Belgium scored their fourth goal, many of their players were photographed dancing in a style similar to the ‘Trump dance’ (in which he sways his hips and slowly pumps his arms) which became famous during the 2024 US presidential campaign.

The Belgium national team’s official Instagram account also appeared to poke fun at the fiasco, posting a photo of forward Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption “turn this around”.