Youri Tielemans has spoken of Belgium’s surprise at FIFA’s decision to suspend U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban during the summer’s World Cup.
Tielemans, who has joined Manchester United from Aston Villa this summer, was part of the Belgium side that comfortably defeated the United States 4-1 — but the last-16 knockout tie was overshadowed by the availability of Balogun for the co-hosts
The 25-year-old received a straight red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup round-of-32. He was, however, made eligible to face Belgium in the next round after FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the sanction. U.S. President Donald Trump later said he had called Infantino and asked for the case to be reviewed.
The U.S. striker subsequently started for Mauricio Pochettino’s side in the last-16 game.
“Originally we were surprised by the decision to revert the red card and his suspension,” Tielemans said of the episode.
“For us, it did not really change anything other than the preparation leading up to the game because it is a different type of player than the other player that was meant to play. But other than that, we were very calm and we just accepted our fate and tried to have a good game.”
When Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s fourth goal in Seattle, the team’s feelings on the matter became evident. The striker performed a ‘we can’t hear you’ cupped-ear celebration followed by the team doing a dance mimicking President Trump, on the pitch and then later again in the dressing room.
Then, the Belgium national team put out a social media post making fun of the situation.
Overturn this. 🧏♂️ #USABEL pic.twitter.com/KcBAJp3Z7d
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 7, 2026
After the match, some Belgium players addressed the issue when questioned in the mixed zone. Midfielder Nicolas Raskin called the Balogun decision an injustice, Dodi Lukebakio said he didn’t understand it and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said Belgium had been disrespected.
Tielemans was asked if Belgium’s celebrations after the match indicated that the decision had fired up his side. “Yeah, I think that is part of the game,” he said. “The celebrations afterwards were … yeah, were nice and funny and it was all good.”