Belgium’s sports authorities do not appear to have fully moved past the controversy that shrouded their Round of 16 matchup against the United States, but Belgian fans in Washington have.
Folarin Balogun, the American striker whose red-card punishment was suspended by FIFA just before that game, is now barely top of mind.
“I don’t think it had any impact on the game,” Michael McCusker, a Brussels native, said of FIFA’s decision. “Did it give us the extra push? I don’t know. The USA were terrible.”
The White House lobbied hard for Balogun to play against Belgium. And President Donald Trump took all the credit when FIFA lifted his suspension. The Royal Belgian Football Association, in turn, formally challenged the decision. Fans blasted FIFA’s reversal as politically motivated, arguing the organization had bowed to Trump.
But even with Balogun lining up on Monday, the Belgians made mincemeat of the U.S., never trailing in the match. For Belgium’s Beltway fans, winning seems to have taken care of everything.
“I woke up that morning feeling really good,” Margo Vandenbroucke, a Leuven native who works at the International Monetary Fund. “I walked into work that morning and everyone was clapping for me, for Belgium. I think that was the best way of showing that it didn’t matter.”
But if Belgian supporters abroad have moved on, the Balogun scandal is still alive and well in Brussels. In a letter Wednesday, 72 members of the European Parliament called for an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino — and whether his relationship with Trump played a role in the decision to reverse an on-field disciplinary action.