There was extra pressure on the USMNT heading into its Round of 16 clash against Belgium in Seattle. With Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina controversially overturned following U.S. President Donald Trump’s intervention with FIFA, the team had to prove the decision was justified. Instead, the USMNT looked completely out of sorts as the European side cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory. After the final whistle, the Belgian players could not resist poking fun at the Americans.

The teasing began right after striker Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s fourth goal in the dying seconds of the game. Lukaku, along with pretty much every one of his teammates, ran to the corner flag and celebrated by doing the dance that President Donald Trump normally does, as multiple clips showed. It was the move — rocking the hips and pumping the arms — that Trump made famous during his 2024 presidential campaign.

That was not the end, as the Belgium National Team’s official Instagram handle posted a picture of Lukaku cupping his ear. The caption read, “Overturn this.”

This was a direct dig at the USMNT and FIFA over the overturning of Balogun’s red card, which was shown by referee Rafael Claus in the previous round for a tackle on Tarik Muharemović. Donald Trump and members of his administration later confirmed they had contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to investigate the incident, only for soccer’s governing body to suspend his red card for a period of one-year. Even though FIFA has maintained that its investigation was independent and not politically motivated, the soccer community was having none of it.

Balogun’s red card may have been overturned, but the 4-1 scoreline that sent the Belgians into the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup cannot be. The jokes and ridicule continued.

“I didn’t know that 5 July here is the same as 1 April (April Fool’s Day) in Europe. That’s new to me,” Belgium’s coach Rudi Garcia said after Balogun was allowed to play against his team. “But I am a coach and want to focus on the game. For me, only my team matters, winning and reaching the quarterfinals. The fact that Balogun starts does not change anything for me. 0%.”

For Balogun, it had been a breakout tournament. The former Arsenal striker, who now plays for Ligue 1 side Monaco, scored three goals in four appearances to establish himself as the USMNT’s talisman. Having him on the pitch was expected to be a huge boost for the Americans. Instead, he looked like a shadow of the player who had lit up the tournament, barely getting a sniff inside the opposition’s box.

Belgium did an excellent job of keeping him quiet, with several players later revealing that the overturning of his red card only fueled the squad’s motivation to secure a convincing win over the host nation.

“A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days,” said Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin. “There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.”

“We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That’s what we did,” Captain Youri Tielemans added.

That said, even after knocking the USMNT out of the tournament, Belgium was not ready to let the matter rest. The federation now appears set to continue its fight with FIFA away from the pitch.

Belgium is reportedly initiating legal action against FIFA

Just after FIFA revoked Balogun’s red card suspension, Belgium formally appealed to soccer’s governing body, claiming it had “no alternative but to challenge (Balogun’s) eligibility for the upcoming match.” However, FIFA’s appeal committee rejected the complaint.

“The RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision,” a statement from FIFA said.

This prompted the Royal Belgian Football Association to take the issue further. “To date, the RBFA has still not received any grounds for this decision, nor has it received the information it has been requesting since the start of this procedure, including a copy of the decision, the reasoning behind declaring the player eligible, as well as the referee’s report.

“This is a breach of FIFA regulations. The RBFA has informed the United States Soccer Federation that it contests the player’s eligibility should the player be listed on the referee’s team sheet. This leaves all further actions open,” the RBFA’s counter-statement hinted.

Reportedly, according to Belgium, by revoking Balogun’s suspension, FIFA contradicted Article 10.5 of the 2026 World Cup Competition Regulations. Thus, Belgium may have enough grounds to fight a legal battle with FIFA. Even UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, is reportedly looking into the matter as Belgium readies itself to challenge FIFA.

“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” a statement from UEFA read.

Belgium may have had the last laugh on the pitch, but the fallout from Balogun’s overturned red card appears far from over. With the RBFA refusing to let the matter drop and UEFA now weighing in, FIFA could soon find itself defending one of the most controversial decisions in the sport’s history for years to come.