Incredulous Belgium coach calls FIFA’s Folarin Balogun suspension reversal an ‘April Fools’ joke
SEATTLE — After the Royal Belgian Football Association released a 283-word statement saying it was “astonished” at Folarin Balogun’s reinstatement, manager Rudi Garcia compared it to April Fools’ Day at his pre-match press conference.
“I didn’t know that July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA,” Garcia said in French, through an interpreter.
“We’re not defending the national team or federation,” Garcia continued. “We’re defending in football. … It’s the first time in World Cup history that such a decision is taken. I am a head coach, I will focus on my team, on tomorrow’s game. Regardless of the 11 starting players from the U.S., I will focus on my team.”
Garcia and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois attempted in vain to keep questions focused on the match itself, but all anyone wanted to talk about was Balogun.
The RBFA statement cited a series of FIFA bylaws, and said the federation “is investigating all potential options.”
While it’s unclear exactly what that might entail, Garcia was asked whether an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was a possibility, even if it were to take place after Monday’s game.
“Do not waste your time talking about this,” Garcia said. “I am the head coach of the Belgian national team. He [Courtois] is the player. If you have any sporting questions, football questions, we’ll happily answer them.”
Courtois, the veteran goalkeeper who started against the USMNT in the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup — one of three Belgian players this year who did so, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku — insisted that Balogun’s reentry into the lineup would change nothing.
“Of course it was the day prior to the game, so that was a bit of a surprise,” Courtois said. “Had it been done earlier, we’d have been able to be more mentally prepared, perhaps.”
Nevertheless, Courtois said, “it’s not making such a big difference.”
“Eventually, we always prepare for all the possible strikers,” Courtois said. “I think [Balogun] is a very fast striker. Obviously a different profile than maybe [Ricardo] Pepi. Also they’re all good strikers.
“With [Sergiño] Dest playing on the right wing, [Christian] Pulisic can play. They have a lot of quality up front. They arrive well in the box, create a lot of 1 v 1s with the goalkeeper .. We prepare for everyone and it’s good that we still have a training session today, still have 1 ½ days. Our goalkeeper coaches prepared all the penalties for Balogun, his profile.
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“It doesn’t change anything. We’ll be ready.”
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