By Leela de Kretser
SEATTLE, July 6 (Reuters) – Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin said his side’s 4-1 World Cup last-16 win over the United States on Monday felt like a measure of justice after FIFA’s decision to allow U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play despite his red card in the previous game.
Balogun had been sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, and while a dismissal normally carries an automatic one-match suspension, FIFA suspended the ban under Article 27 of its Disciplinary Code after U.S. President Donald Trump asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the case.
Infantino said FIFA’s judicial bodies operated “independently and autonomously” and that he had told Trump the Balogun case was subject to an ongoing legal process.
FIFA’s disciplinary committee said it had the authority to suspend the one-match ban.
The decision triggered widespread criticism, including from Belgium’s football federation, which unsuccessfully challenged Balogun’s eligibility hours before kickoff.
Belgium, however, made the controversy irrelevant on the pitch, sweeping aside the hosts 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
“Like I said, I think there was always a justice somewhere in life and the fact that something can happen like that, you can put it all you want, but we don’t think that was fair,” Raskin told reporters.
“And today, I think it just brings us a little bit of luck. We needed to win the game and the message throughout.”
The team’s Instagram account posted a photo of Romelu Lukaku celebrating after scoring Belgium’s fourth goal with the caption: “Overturn this.”
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, however, played down the row in his post-match press conference when asked if it had fuelled his players.
“No, it wasn’t needed or necessary … what really mattered to us is our game plan,” he said, adding that he had spoken with Balogun after the final whistle.
“He came to talk to me, I really like that,” he said. “It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame and that’s what I told him.”
Belgium will face Spain in Los Angeles on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.
(Writing by Julien Pretot in New York; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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