{"id":3775,"date":"2026-07-05T22:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T22:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3775"},"modified":"2026-07-05T22:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T22:08:20","slug":"incredulous-belgium-coach-calls-fifas-folarin-balogun-suspension-reversal-an-april-fools-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3775","title":{"rendered":"Incredulous Belgium coach calls FIFA’s Folarin Balogun suspension reversal an ‘April Fools’ joke"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SEATTLE \u2014 After the Royal Belgian Football Association released a 283-word statement saying it was \u201castonished\u201d at Folarin Balogun\u2019s reinstatement, manager Rudi Garcia compared it to April Fools\u2019 Day at his pre-match press conference.<\/p>

Read more Belgium soccer \u2018astonished\u2019 by FIFA\u2019s Folarin Balogun red card decision as it investigates \u2018all potential options\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know that July 5 was equal to April 1 at FIFA,\u201d Garcia said in French, through an interpreter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not defending the national team or federation,\u201d Garcia continued. \u201cWe\u2019re defending in football. \u2026 It\u2019s 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\u2019s game. Regardless of the 11 starting players from the U.S., I will focus on my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The RBFA statement cited a series of FIFA bylaws, and said the federation \u201cis investigating all potential options.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s 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\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not waste your time talking about this,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI am the head coach of the Belgian national team. He [Courtois] is the player. If you have any sporting questions, football questions, we\u2019ll happily answer them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtois, the veteran goalkeeper who started against the USMNT in the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup \u2014 one of three Belgian players this year who did so, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku \u2014 insisted that Balogun\u2019s reentry into the lineup would change nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it was the day prior to the game, so that was a bit of a surprise,\u201d Courtois said. \u201cHad it been done earlier, we\u2019d have been able to be more mentally prepared, perhaps.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Trump called FIFA president asking to review USMNT star Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card suspension: report<\/a><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Courtois said, \u201cit\u2019s not making such a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, we always prepare for all the possible strikers,\u201d Courtois said. \u201cI think [Balogun] is a very fast striker. Obviously a different profile than maybe [Ricardo] Pepi. Also they\u2019re all good strikers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith [Sergi\u00f1o] 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\u2019s good that we still have a training session today, still have 1 \u00bd days. Our goalkeeper coaches prepared all the penalties for Balogun, his profile.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt doesn\u2019t change anything. We\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia compared FIFA allowing USMNT star Folarin Balogun to play in the World Cup Round of 16 despite a red card suspension to an April Fools’ joke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"\nIncredulous Belgium coach calls FIFA's Folarin Balogun suspension reversal an 'April Fools' joke - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=3775\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Incredulous Belgium coach calls FIFA's Folarin Balogun suspension reversal an 'April Fools' joke - 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