During the 2026 World Cup, FIFA made the surprising decision to overturn a suspension handed to United States star Folarin Balogun, clearing him to feature in the Round of 16 clash against Belgium. The decision immediately sparked backlash, particularly after President Donald Trump revealed that he had contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for the suspension to be reviewed.

The controversial ruling quickly became a major topic of discussion among fans and the media, hanging over the highly anticipated matchup and seemingly creating an added distraction ahead of the United States’ 4-1 loss in the knockout round. Now, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino is expressing his regret.

Balogun was initially expected to miss the match against Belgium due to an automatic suspension stemming from the red card he received in the previous game. But in a highly unusual development, FIFA announced just one day before the match that Balogun would be cleared to play after suspending his punishment.

FIFA’s decision to lift Balogun’s suspension was highly unusual and quickly sparked outrage across the sports world, particularly after Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask that the matter be reviewed. The controversy even led some Americans to throw their support behind Belgium.

Both Trump and Infantino sought to downplay the impact the phone call had on the final decision.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” Infantino wrote in a statement following criticism. “During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”

“All I did, I asked for a review, cause I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said, via Yahoo. “I didn’t tell them what to do, I can’t tell them what to do. … I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”

However, according to The Times’ Martyn Ziegler, the decision was not actually made by a committee, but by a single individual.

“There are 18 members of FIFA’s disciplinary committee but the unprecedented decision to lift Balogun’s automatic ban was taken by just one person – the chairman Mohammad Al Kamali of UAE. No one else was consulted,” Ziegler reported on Sunday.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body and a longtime rival of FIFA, characterized the decision as “incomprehensible” and said it “crossed a red line.”

Ultimately, Belgium thoroughly dominated the United States even with Balogun, beating the Americans 4-1 and knocking them out of the tournament. Several Belgian players were then seen openly mocking Trump on the field after the game.

At the time, United States coach Mauricio Pochettino was supportive of the United States lobbying to get Balogun eligible for the knockout round match against Belgium. However, after some time to reflect, he has since changed his tune.

“At the time, I didn’t fully understand the criticism and everything else. But now, with the benefit of time and looking back on it, the truth is that you have to learn from things, from mistakes. And I think sometimes the things that happen during a tournament have to stay there,” Pochettino said late last month, via The Athletic, ahead of the team’s stretch of friendlies.

“You have to have the humility to recognize that sometimes you can be wrong. And I think my mistake was not being present at that moment. Things happened, and the truth is that the entire energy changed. And that game is very difficult to analyze because it took place in an environment that was not the best environment in which to go and compete at a World Cup.”

This lines up with some comments made by Balogun himself shortly after the tournament.

“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back on the team. But when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun said during an interview with CBS Mornings. “And I could almost see within my teammates, a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique. But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could. But it was difficult, you know, a lot of outside noise.”