Folarin Balogun has finally spoken. And his words are as honest as the controversy around him has been strong.The United States striker admitted this week that he knows the president Donald TrumpThe intervention to overturn his one-match World Cup suspension would create significant controversy and that fall has visibly affected his teammates in the days leading up to the Round of 16 clash against Belgium.Balogun was shown a straight red card during the USMNT’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for a tackle on Tarik Muharemovic. FIFA’s disciplinary committee subsequently suspended the one-match ban for 12 months, a decision that came after Trump publicly accepted that he had personally intervened on behalf of Balogun and co-hosts the United States. The move drew immediate and fierce criticism from football fans, players and governing bodies around the world.Now, speaking to CBS, Balogun addressed it all directly.“My initial reaction was to be happy to be back in the team, but when I started to think about it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy, and I could almost see in my teammates a little bit of nerves, because it’s something so unique,” said Balogun. “The closer we got to the game, I tried to focus as best I could, but it was difficult. A lot of external noise, and this is difficult to avoid.”Balogun was clear that his teammates rallied around him during the storm. “They gave me a lot of reassurance,” I said. “It wasn’t something I could change. It was just a situation that was unfortunate, which gave me confidence.”On the red card itself, Balogun remains adamant it was the wrong call. “I was in shock. It wasn’t even a tackle. When something is unintentional, it should never be a red card. It put a lot more pressure on us than we needed,” he said. The United States lost 2-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16, with Balogun starting the match. FIFA has yet to offer any public explanation as to why the ban has been suspended.The controversy, meanwhile, has escalated far beyond football. On Tuesday, human rights group FairSquare filed a formal complaint with the International Olympic Committee, accusing FIFA president Gianni Infantino, an IOC member since 2020, of violating the Olympic charter and the IOC’s code of ethics in his handling of the Balogun affair.