General Discussion

First came the beatdown. Then came the mocking.

After Belgium throttled the United States 4-1 in the World Cup Round of 16 on Monday night, the Belgians had even more fun at the Americans’ expense, mostly zeroing in on the saga of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun.

His one-game suspension for the red card he received in the Round of 32 was lifted by FIFA on Sunday, after President Donald Trump requested a review from the governing body. The soccer world, and especially Belgium, responded with fury, accusing FIFA of placating Trump.

Thus, after the win, the Belgian national team’s X account posted a photo of the team’s fourth goal marked with the message “Overturn this.” Similarly, after that goal, many of Belgium’s players did the “Trump dance,” swaying their hips and rocking their hands back and forth.

Link to tweet

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