The announcement that Folarin Balogun would be allowed to play against Belgium on Monday was met with widespread excitement throughout the United States.
However, Belgian fans in Washington, D.C., had a different reaction.
POLITICO spoke to several Belgian fans at a watch party hosted by the Belgian embassy at Wunder Garten, a fashionable bar in Washington’s NoMa neighborhood.
“I had to keep up my vomiting,” said Johan Hamels, an Ottawa resident from Leuven visiting Washington for work. “Rules are rules. Every team gets briefed by FIFA. And for every game, it’s in one of their slides. That you get a red card, you’re off next time.”
Balogun had received a red card during the Americans’ Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which usually results in a suspension for the subsequent game. Nevertheless, FIFA lifted his ban on Sunday.
Critics have accused the White House of pressuring FIFA to change the decision. European politicians have criticized Balogun’s participation, and the Royal Belgian Football Association officially contested FIFA’s reversal on Monday morning.
While FIFA maintains that the decision was not politically motivated, President Donald Trump has claimed credit for facilitating Balogun’s return to the field.
“I’m Belgian,” said Win Van Dijck, a Brussels native who has lived in the U.S. for five years. “So I appreciate surrealism. But it’s just too much.”
Some believe this situation exemplifies Trump’s influence over a tournament that has increasingly ventured into the political sphere.
“Having it reversed based on a call from the American God is a little bit lack of workmanship. And it’s sad for the kids here because that’s what they see as an example,” said Brigitte, a retiree who moved to the U.S. in 1984.
