Belgium's 4-1 victory over the United States on Monday was doubly sweet: they advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals while overcoming what they saw as off-field injustice. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
The buildup to the match was tinged with controversy after FIFA suspended the red card US striker Folarin Balogun received in the last 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, allowing him to play against Belgium instead of serving a one-match ban. When it emerged that Donald Trump had lobbied for Balogun's red card to be overturned, Belgium and other nations were outraged; UEFA called the decision "incomprehensible and unjustifiable".
Belgium's official social media channels quickly sent a message after their 4-1 victory was confirmed. "Overturn this," the posts read, alongside images of their goal celebrations.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said the Balogun controversy helped motivate his team. "Let's be honest: we held a meeting when we heard the news. We told ourselves we needed to do our talking on the pitch. That's what we did today. I'm very proud of the team," Tielemans said after Monday's game.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said the team had faced a "lack of respect" in the US over the last few days. "People said they could easily beat us, but I think we've just proven today that we really are a good team. We're playing a great match," he said.
Belgium winger Dodi Lukébakio said that although the team were aware of the Balogun incident, they did not let it distract them. "We didn't understand really why he was allowed to play, because he got the red card, but we didn't want to go too much into it, we wanted to be focused and to play our game, and that's what we did today," he said.
Belgium will play Spain on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.