Mauricio Pochettino hailed FIFA's shock decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's one-game ban on Sunday, reiterating his claim that the call to issue the US striker a red card was harsh.
"Everyone that really loves the sport and trusts ethics and integrity, I think we celebrate all that decision," Pochettino said. "We were punished enough against Bosnia Herzegovina to play with 10 men for 30 minutes [because of] a decision that was completely unfair. … 99.9% of people agree there was an unfair red card."
Trump's Intervention
The Guardian reported on Sunday that Donald Trump called FIFA at least three times since Wednesday to lobby for the overturning of Balogun's one-game suspension, stemming from a straight red card the striker received against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their last-32 matchup. In the incident, Balogun and defender Tarik Muharemovic collided and fell to the ground, with Balogun's foot landing high on Muharemovic's ankle. The video assistant referee recommended a review, in which referee Raphael Claus saw the incident in slow motion and issued Balogun a red card for serious foul play.
Pochettino's Critique of VAR
"It's difficult when you are in a box with three, four TVs, and in slow motion, see the things that look massive, look bigger," Pochettino said of the review process that led to Balogun's red. "But [if you] play football, like I played? I know when it's bad intention, intentional, not intentional … you cannot measure through VAR, it's only the referee, and the referee didn't see that was intentional."
FIFA and US Soccer Federation officials said after the game that the red card and the accompanying one-game suspension were not eligible to be appealed, but Pochettino said on Sunday that USSF officials had been "working to defend our situation", name-dropping US Soccer CEO JT Batson as among those involved.
Political Involvement
Asked if politicians like Trump should be getting involved, Pochettino said, "No, we cannot mix that. We cannot mix that." He then returned to the topic of Balogun's sending-off.
"I don't know how people can be surprised. This has happened in the past. It's not something extraordinary that's only happened for us," Pochettino said, perhaps referencing FIFA's past usage of Article 27 to suspend two games of Cristiano Ronaldo's three-game ban given after a red card against the Republic of Ireland – a decision that enabled Ronaldo to start both of Portugal's opening two games of the World Cup. "We've seen plenty of plays in this World Cup that – fortunately, and I'm glad for this – didn't result in the kind of punishment we received, because that would have been unfair, too."
Impact on Upcoming Match
"That is why now, if I am in the opposite dugout, I celebrate," Pochettino said. "Because to lose a game in the World Cup is tough for a player, and if a player that we are going to face is in an unfair way suspended, and he cannot be able to play for your national team, it's really tough."
Pochettino again reiterated that he felt the US had already been punished enough for Balogun's red card, due to having to play the rest of their last-32 match shorthanded. The US was only up 1-0 at the time of the ejection in the 64th minute, later equalizing through a Malik Tillman free-kick.
"If anyone was harmed in this situation, it was the United States," he contended in Spanish. "If anyone tries to argue that we weren't punished, playing 30 or 35 minutes a man down in a World Cup knockout match, well, there's no extraordinary benefit we're gaining here. Ultimately, we aren't playing the victim, but we certainly aren't the villains of this story, either."
Belgium's Reaction
Belgium manager Rudi Garcia said earlier Sunday that FIFA may have confused 5 July for 1 April – April Fools' Day in the US.
"If we concede a goal and we played 30 minutes more, we play 35 minutes with 10 men, and we go and play 30 minutes more [in extra time], more than one hour [played down a man], and we concede again, and we lose the game, today we are not talking, and no one is going to talk about this," he said. "I know Rudi. I love Rudi. He's a great coach, but he's a great person, of course. He needs to defend his side, but I think integrity and ethics are global words that you cannot use in a specific situation, and I think more fair than that is impossible."
US Players React
Several hours earlier, the US squad learned of Balogun's eligibility via social media reports. The news initially seemed too good to be true.
"I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first," defender Chris Richards said with a chuckle of disbelief. "We know that we're more than just one player and more than 11 – we're a full team, and we're a very strong team. We still know that whoever's playing tomorrow, we're going to throw in a good performance."
Richards, Alex Freeman and Christian Pulisic fielded questions Sunday at US training in Seattle, all three speaking with considerable levity and relief. The nature of FIFA's about-face remains a murky subject – The Guardian understands the White House lobbied FIFA to lift Balogun's ban – but the players remained focused on the last-16 clash.
"I don't know, personnel changes all the time, right?" Pulisic said. "We don't know who's going to play for them up top either tomorrow. Things change. Obviously now, hearing that, they're going to have to be ready for different options."
