Belgium hit back at Trump with savage two-word message after FIFA ban controversy
Topics: Donald Trump, Sport
Thomas Bamford
Featured Image Credit: Image: (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Topics: Donald Trump, Sport
Belgium have set up a quarter-final clash with Spain after a night in Seattle that will be remembered for a lot more than just the football.
The Red Devils cruised past co-hosts USA 4-1 in the last 16, but it's what happened both before and after the final whistle that's got everyone talking.
Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin admitted the squad had been left rattled by events in the build-up to the match, but insisted they used it as fuel.
"A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days," he said. "There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field."
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Belgium captain Youri Tielemans echoed the sentiment, saying the team had made a pact before kick-off. "We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That's what we did," he said.
So why all the anger? USA striker Folarin Balogun had appeared certain to miss the tie after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina's Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.
Then, on the Sunday before the match, FIFA suspended his automatic one-match ban for 12 months, a decision that caused uproar, with UEFA, Belgium and England boss Thomas Tuchel all speaking out against it.
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was 'astonished' by the decision and told the United States Soccer Federation it 'contests the eligibility' of Balogun playing in the game.
The RBFA appealed, but a FIFA committee ruled Belgium weren't an interested party, since they hadn't been involved in the original red card decision and were simply the USA's next opponents.
Adding another layer to the saga, US President Donald Trump confirmed on Monday that he'd personally asked FIFA to review the ban, which he said would have left a 'big stain' on the tournament.
"I think it [the suspension] would have left a big stain," Trump said at the White House. "I can't tell them what to do. I don't believe they made the decision; I believe it was the commission that made the decision. And it was the right decision."
Balogun ended up starting the match for the USA, but it didn't matter one bit as Belgium ran riot.
After Belgium's fourth goal went in, several players were pictured on the pitch doing an impression of the so-called 'Trump dance', the hip-rocking, arm-pumping move that went viral during the 2024 US presidential campaign.
The mockery didn't stop there. Belgium's official Instagram account posted a picture of striker Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear, with a brutal two-word takedown: 'overturn this'.
Diabolical: Belgian soccer squad does the Trump dance after DESTROYING the US Team 4:1 pic.twitter.com/zjRnd5RYxW
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) July 7, 2026
Head coach Rudi Garcia said Balogun had approached him after the game to talk, adding: "I really liked that. It's not his fault, he's not the one to blame and that's what I told him."
Asked how the whole affair had affected his side, Garcia kept it simple. "Regardless of the US starting line-up, what really mattered to us is our game plan," he said.
"The group is very mature. I told them what matters the most is us."
Tuchel, meanwhile, said the ruling had set a troubling precedent for the tournament going forward. "Where to draw the line is the question that I ask," he said. "I have no answer to that."
For context on just how rare FIFA's intervention was, of the 189 other red cards shown at this World Cup, only one player has ever previously escaped an automatic suspension, Brazil's Garrincha, back in 1962, before the automatic ban system even existed.
UNILAD has contacted FIFA for comment.
Round of 16 - Match 93: Portugal vs Spain, 0-1
Round of 16 - Match 94: USA vs Belgium, 1-4
Round of 16 - Match 91: Brazil vs Norway, 1-2
Round of 16 - Match 92: Mexico vs England, 2-3
Round of 16 - Match 90: Canada vs Morocco, 0-3
Round of 16 - Match 89: Paraguay vs France, 0-1
Round of 32 - Match 88: Australia vs Egypt, 1-1 (2-4 on penalties)
Round of 32 - Match 86: Argentina vs Cabo Verde, 3-2
Round of 32 - Match 87: Colombia vs Ghana, 1-0
Round of 32 - Match 84: Spain vs Austria, 3-0
Round of 32 - Match 83: Portugal vs Croatia, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 85: Switzerland vs Algeria, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 80: England vs DR Congo, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 82: Belgium vs Senegal, 3-2
Round of 32 - Match 81: USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 78: Mexico vs Ecuador, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 77: France vs Sweden, 3-0
Round of 32 - Match 79: Ivory Coast vs Norway, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 76: Brazil vs Japan, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 74: Germany vs Paraguay, 1-1 (4-3)
Round of 32 - Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco, 1-1 (3-2)
Round of 32 - Match 73: South Africa vs Canada, 1-0
Group L: Panama vs England, 2-0
Group L: Croatia vs Ghana, 2-1
Group K: Colombia vs Portugal, 0-0
Group K: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, 3-1
Group J: Algeria vs Austria, 3-3
Group J: Jordan vs Argentina, 3-1
Group I: Norway vs France, 4-1
Group I: Senegal vs Iraq, 5-0
Group H: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, 0-0
Group H: Uruguay vs Spain, 1-0
Group G: New Zealand vs Belgium, 5-1
Group G: Egypt vs Iran, 1-1
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Curacao, 2-0
Group E: Ecuador vs Germany, 2-1
Group F: Japan vs Sweden, 1-1
Group F: Tunisia vs Netherlands, 3-1
Group D: Turkey vs USA, 3-2
Group D: Paraguay vs Australia, 0-0
Group B: Switzerland vs Canada, 2-1
Group B: Qatar vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 3-1
Group C: Scotland vs Brazil, 3-0
Group C: Morocco vs Haiti, 4-2
Group A: Mexico vs Czech Republic,3-0
Group A: South Africa vs South Korea, 1-0
Group K: Portugal vs Uzbekistan, 5-0
Group L: England vs Ghana, 0-0
Group L: Panama vs Croatia, 1-0
Group K: Colombia vs DR Congo, 1,0
Group G: New Zealand vs Egypt, 1-3
Group I: France vs Iraq, 3-0
Group I: Norway vs Senegal, 3-2
Group J: Argentina vs Austria, 2-0
Group J: Algeria vs Jordan, 2-1
Group H: Uruguay vs Cape Verde, 2-2
Group H: Spain vs Saudi Arabia, 4-0
Group G: Belgium vs Iran, 0-0
Group G: New Zealand vs Egypt, 1-3
Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast, 2-1
Group E: Ecuador vs Curaçao, 0-0
Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden, 5-1
Group F: Tunisia vs Japan, 0-4
Group C: Brazil vs Haiti, 3-0
Group C: Scotland vs Morocco, 0-1
Group D: Turkey vs Paraguay, 0-1
Group D: USA vs Australia, 2-0
Group A: Czech Republic vs South Africa, 1-1
Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 4-1
Group B: Canada vs Qatar, 6-0
Group A: Mexico vs South Korea, 1-0
Group K: Portugal vs DR Congo, 1-1
Group L: England vs Croatia, 4-2
Group L: Ghana vs Panama, 1-0
Group K: Uzbekistan vs Colombia, 1-3
Group I: France vs Senegal, 3-1
Group I: Iraq vs Norway, 1-4
Group J: Argentina vs Algeria, 3-0
Group J: Austria vs Jordan, 3-1
Group H: Spain vs Cabo Verde, 0-0
Group G: Belgium vs Egypt, 1-1
Group H: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay, 1-1
Group G: Iran vs New Zealand, 2-2
Group E: Germany vs Curacao, 7-1
Group F: Netherlands vs Japan, 2-2
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador, 1-0
Group F: Sweden vs Tunisia, 5-1
Group B: Qatar vs Switzerland, 1-1
Group C: Brazil vs Morocco, 1-1
Group C: Haiti vs Scotland, 0-1
Group D: Australia vs Turkey, 2-0
Group B: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 1-1
Group D: USA vs Paraguay, 4-1
Group A: Mexico vs South Africa, 2-0
Group A: South Korea vs Czech Republic, 2-1