FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Folarin Balogun has spoken for the first time about the controversy surrounding the overturning of his World Cup ban. In an interview with CBS, the United States forward admitted that he understood FIFA's decision would bring a lot of backlash.
Balogun was sent off in the round of 32 match against Bosnia and was initially suspended. However, FIFA decided to overturn the suspension, clearing the way for his participation in the match against Belgium. It was later reported that US President Donald Trump had called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of the case.
" My first reaction was joy to be back in the team. But, after thinking about it more, I realized that this decision would arouse a lot of controversy. I even had the impression that there was a kind of tension even among my teammates, since it was a completely unusual situation ," Balogun said.
The American forward insisted that the tackle on Muharemovic in the match against Bosnia did not deserve a red card. He also indicated that the media hype also affected the preparations for the match against Belgium.
" I tried to concentrate as much as possible as the game approached, but it wasn't easy. There was a lot of noise from outside and it was hard to ignore it ," Balogun concluded.
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