Balogun expected controversy after World Cup ban waived

United States striker Folarin Balogun says he knew Fifa's decision to suspend his one-game ban at the World Cup was going to create "a lot of controversy" and could see the resulting "nerves" among his team-mates.

Balogun, 25, was dismissed for serious foul play against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32 and should have received an automatic suspension.

However, Fifa's disciplinary committee suspended his ban for a year - a decision that prompted widespread condemnation, particularly when it emerged US President Donald Trump and White House officials had lobbied football's world governing body about the American's sanction.

Balogun, who scored three goals at the World Cup, was able to start the USA's last-16 defeat by Belgium - a decision European football's governing body Uefa called "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable".

"My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team but when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to start a lot of controversy and I could almost see within my team-mates a bit of nerves because it is something that is so unique," Balogun told CBS., external

"The closer we got to the game, I focused the best I could but it was difficult. The outside noise is hard to avoid.

"My team-mates are like my brothers, they gave me a lot of reassurance. There was nothing I could do or change."

The decision to waive Balogun's suspension came two days before the United States were beaten 4-1 by Belgium.

Balogun found out that he could feature in the game while on the team bus, which brought "screaming and shouting" among the squad.

Given the unlikely nature of avoiding an instant suspension for a straight red card, Balogun said he had not been involved in early preparations for the game.

"It was confusing as the team was practising without me in the team. I almost played a supporting role to keep the morale high," the Monaco striker added.

"When we found out on the team bus, everyone was screaming and shouting. It was a pretty intense bus ride to the practice field."

Despite the Belgium defeat, Balogun, who did not score in the game, does not feel it distracted Mauricio Pochettino's side.

"It was about separating the emotion from the job at hand. We are all professionals," he added.

"It was not something that was too difficult to separate once we got over the initial announcement that I would be back in the team.

"It was a difficult game against Belgium and that can overshadow whether we are focused or not, but from being inside the camp and set-up I know we had full concentration going into the game."

The head of Fifa's disciplinary committee refused to answer BBC questions about the decision-making process which led to Balogun avoiding a ban.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has previously denied having influence over disciplinary decisions.

England's Jarell Quansah was similarly shown a red card in England's 3-2 win over Mexico following a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo and the same committee ruled he should serve a two-match ban.

It was classed as serious foul play, meaning the Bayer Leverkusen player was handed an extra match on top of the automatic one-game suspension by Fifa.