Folarin Balogun picked Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ as the soundtrack to his FIFA suspension drama
Folarin Balogun seems to be enjoying his new role as football’s public enemy.
Hours after FIFA overturned the automatic suspension that would have ruled him out of the United States’ Round of 16 clash with Belgium, the striker hopped on Instagram with a fairly subtle message.
Well, subtle enough.
Balogun posted a photo of himself on the pitch, then shared it to his Story with ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson playing over the top.
Not exactly hard to read into.
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The whole thing comes after one of the stranger twists of this World Cup.
Balogun was shown a straight red card during the US’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina after VAR upgraded his challenge to serious foul play. Automatic ban. No Belgium. End of story.
Except… not quite.
On Sunday, FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the ban, clearing Balogun to play in the knockout match after President Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asked for the incident to be reviewed.
FIFA then invoked Article 27 of its disciplinary code to put the suspension on hold while the case continues.
Belgium weren’t thrilled.
The decision sparked plenty of frustration from the Belgian camp, who had been preparing to face a US side without its leading scorer.
Instead, they’ll now have to deal with a striker who has spent the past week scoring goals and posting Michael Jackson lyrics.
It’s hard to argue Balogun hasn’t earned the confidence.
The 25-year-old has four goals in five World Cup matches and has been one of the standout performers of the tournament as the US chases its first quarter-final since 2002.
Belgium knocked the Americans out at this stage back in 2014.
This time, Balogun arrives with a second chance, a point to prove, and ‘Bad’ as his unofficial walk-on music.
