Folarin Balogun: Ban reversal caused ‘a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid’

• US striker’s red card was suspended after Trump calls

• Fifa president accused of breaching neutrality rules

United States striker Folarin Balogun has revealed he predicted President Trump’s involvement in overturning his World Cup suspension would “cause a lot of controversy.”

The Monaco forward was sent off with a red card in the United States’ round-of-32 meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Fifa’s disciplinary committee then suspended the one-match ban for a year, allowing Balogun to participate in the Americans’ last-16 loss to Belgium.

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