Gary Lineker: USA Should Have Left Balogun Out Against Belgium

Legendary English striker Gary Lineker believes the United States national team made a mistake by including Folarin Balogun in their squad for the World Cup round of 16 clash against Belgium. According to Lineker, this should not have happened following the controversial decision to overturn the player's suspension.

Balogun received a red card in the previous round's victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina and was initially suspended for Monday's match. However, on Sunday, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee surprisingly announced that the sanction had been overturned.

The situation became more complicated after US President Donald Trump admitted on Monday that he had personally spoken with FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the case. This sparked accusations that the world football governing body had succumbed to political pressure, which is contrary to its statutes.

Ultimately, Balogun's presence did not bring success to the USA, who suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat. Lineker believes the American team could have demonstrated a principled stance by leaving the striker on the bench.

"It would have been a good move if Balogun or coach Mauricio Pochettino had said: 'We don't think this is right for football, for the integrity of the game and the sport,'" Lineker stated on "The Rest Is Football" podcast on Tuesday.

"I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just say: 'Actually, we're going to leave him out anyway,'" he added.

Gianni Infantino, for his part, insisted that the decision was made entirely by the independent Disciplinary Committee.

The committee later clarified that they had used their powers under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code to overturn Balogun's suspension due to "specific circumstances" of the case, without providing further details.

Balogun himself admitted that the decision to allow him to play was "controversial," but emphasized that he had no involvement in the process.

"We accepted the decision when I saw the red card, and we accepted it when they told us I could play. I wasn't involved in the process. It had nothing to do with me personally," the striker commented.