It only took two words for the Belgium national team’s social media account to send American soccer fans into despair following Monday’s 4-1 win in the World Cup Round of 16: “Overturn this.”
The Belgian soccer federation had expressed several concerns leading into the game after FIFA revoked a red card suspension for American forward Folarin Balogun on Sunday. President Trump admitted to calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of the suspension.
“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,” Belgium’s football association said on Monday.
The overturned suspension didn’t matter. Belgium dominated Balogun and the United States, running them off the pitch in one of the most lopsided matches of the knockout round.
After the game, the Belgian Red Devils X account posted photos of star Romeo Lukaku with the caption “Overturn this.” The message was a clear reference to Balogun’s overturned suspension, which had dominated World Cup discussions since it was announced on Sunday.
The post drew widespread praise from fans of both teams.
“They cooked with this one. I’m sorry,” American comedian Kevin Fredericks posted.
“We are rightly a laughingstock,” posted another American sports fan, Franklin Leonard.
Balogun did not score in the match, recording 21 touches and a team-high three shots on goal.
With the victory, Belgium advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the third time in the last four tournaments. The squad will play Spain on Friday.
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