Pochettino Hails FIFA U-Turn as Balogun Cleared to Face Belgium at World Cup

Pochettino Celebrates FIFA Decision to reinstate Balogun for Belgium clash

Reports claim Donald Trump pushed FIFA to reinstate Balogun. The US striker, with 3 goals in 3 starts, is back for the last-16 vs Belgium.

‘He's been punished enough' says Pochettino as he hails FIFA decision to reinstate Balogun for Belgium clash...

USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino welcomed FIFA’s decision to lift Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban following his red card vs Bosnia & Herzegovina - a reversal that means the striker will be available for Monday’s last-16 match against Belgium in Seattle.

Balogun has three goals in three starts for the US and was sent off with a straight red after a VAR review in the round-of-32 win earlier this week. On Sunday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee invoked Article 27 and reduced the ban to a one-year probationary period instead.

Belgium’s manager spoke before Pochettino on Sunday and called the decision an ‘April Fool’s Day’ joke. The Belgian FA also released a statement saying they were ‘astonished’ and did not rule out taking legal action.

 

It’s only the second time a player has had a straight red card overturned at a World Cup. The last time was in 1962, when Brazil’s Garrincha was reinstated. FIFA also pointed to its decision earlier this year to reduce Cristiano Ronaldo’s three-match ban as precedent.

Pochettino said the US had already been punished enough against Bosnia after playing with 10 men, calling the original ban ‘completely unfair.’

He stated: “My reaction is like everyone, I really love the sport and trust the ethics and integrity. We celebrate this decision. We were punished enough against Bosnia to play 30 minutes with 10 men. It was completely unfair. I need to defend my side, it is, 99.9%, we all agree it was an unfair red card.

“I think we need to celebrate, it is fair, the decision. We don't need to punish more, it was enough.”

He added later: “It’s very good for football. It opens up the possibility to repair a little bit the bad decisions.”

Pochettino said he wasn’t involved in the appeal to overturn the ban, but credited the US federation for working hard behind the scenes to get it reversed.

He added: “I wasn’t involved, I found out today before training.... No more process, the federation, for sure, was working really hard, to try and defend our situation. I was not involved, I was focused to face Belgium.”

Multiple reports on Sunday claimed US President Donald Trump put together a delegation to push for Balogun’s reinstatement, and allegedly even phoned FIFA directly to help overturn the decision.

 

Trump also posted on TruthSocial, thanking FIFA and calling the original ban an ‘injustice’ that had now been reversed.

When asked about the president's interest in the national team, Pochettino answered: “That is the power of the sport, that is amazing. I am from a different culture and federation where they say the president called and said the president want to be involved - it’s not surprised me.

“I come from Argentina and Europe, where football is more than a religion. It is not surprising to me, that in this country, that feeling is starting to grow so quick. For sure, if we keep going and pushing, maybe there is more tomorrow.”

U.S. Men's National Team manager Mauricio Pochettino tosses the first pitch at the @Mariners game ⚽️⚾️

He's a natural! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/9JVwvFplwV

— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2026

“This sport is magic, it is so powerful, it unites people, it unites a country like us... When we sing Country Road, the people are behind one idea. It's so powerful, this sport is by far - and baseball too.”

The teams last met in a friendly in March, when Belgium cruised to a 5-2 win. Pochettino thinks the US have improved since then and is hopeful that having their starting striker available - by any means necessary - can help them take the next step.