United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino lauded FIFA's decision to reinstate Folarin Balogun for the World Cup Round of 16 match, asserting that the player's prior red card was unwarranted. "We celebrate that decision," Pochettino stated. "We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina to play with 10 men, 30 minutes, in a decision that was completely unfair."
The suspension of Balogun, which was lifted shortly before the match, came as a surprise. Pochettino claimed he was not involved in the process and was unaware of any potential intervention from President Trump, who was reportedly involved in discussions with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
"I didn’t see it," Pochettino said when asked about reports of the President's involvement. "I was training, I was with your [media] colleagues and then traveling to the shower, eating too quick, I had a burrito. I was taking the coffee in the car. I didn’t have time to see social media."
Pochettino cited precedents from earlier in the tournament, including a suspended ban for Cristiano Ronaldo, as justification for FIFA's action. "It’s not something extraordinary that has only happened for us. It has happened in the past," he said. "And we’ve seen many plays in this World Cup that were not punished. I’m happy for this, because it would have been unfair. I have 12 different reactions of different players in different matches similar to Balogun’s and they were not punished."
While acknowledging the reaction of Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, who likened the situation to April Fools' Day, Pochettino remained firm in his belief that the initial red card was a severe overreaction. "Yellow card, I can accept that," Pochettino said. "But red card, and punished in the way they punish us, play 35 minutes with 10 men? It’s not enough? Come on guys."
Pochettino concluded by emphasizing the positive implications of FIFA's decision for the sport, not just for the availability of his player. "We are going to be punished in the next game, not to have one player available? For me it’s not a thing to debate. It’s to congratulate the decision that is fantastic, not only because we have another player available, if not for football, I think, to open the possibility to repair a little bit bad decisions."