‘Thought it was joke’: Ex-Belgium coach on Balogun’s World Cup red card reversal

Rudi Garcia, the former coach for Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, has spoken out on the recent reversal of Folarin Balogun's red card. This occurred during USA's 2-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. During the match, Balogun committed a foul on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic, resulting in his dismissal. Typically, this would have excluded him from the upcoming match against Belgium. However, the involvement of then-US President Donald Trump led to the FIFA Committee lifting the ban.

Garcia's reaction to the news was disbelief. "When my sports director told me that maybe they would cancel the red card for Balogun and that he could play, I thought it was a joke. But it was true. It wasn't a joke. Normally, sports and politics are disconnected. Sports issues should stay inside sports," Garcia stated in an interview with the Athletic.

Despite this, the decision ultimately proved to be inconsequential. The hosts, USA, were subsequently thrashed by Belgium with a scoreline of 1-4. The move by FIFA was widely praised by US President Donald Trump, who called it a 'grave injustice' and expressed gratitude for FIFA's reversal. Garcia, however, had initially criticized FIFA, stating that the move was against the spirit of the game.

Following the reversal, Garcia expressed astonishment at FIFA's decision. "I didn’t know that at the FIFA World Cup the fifth of July is now the first of April and it’s April Fool's Day," he remarked to reporters ahead of Belgium's last-16 clash. He was investigating potential options with the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA). Garcia stressed that they were not defending the national team or the federation, but rather defending football’s ethics and integrity.

Garcia and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois reaffirmed that the decision would have no impact on Belgium’s preparation. However, Courtois admitted that the timing of the decision was indeed surprising.