BRUSSELS, July 6 (Reuters) - Belgians on Monday berated FIFA over its decision to suspend a red-card ban for one of the United States' top players before the two teams' World Cup clash following a personal intervention by U.S. President Donald Trump.
FIFA suspended striker Folarin Balogun's red-card ban, clearing him to play in their next match, after Trump personally urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the case.
The unprecedented move has thrust FIFA's disciplinary process into the spotlight
and prompted an angry response from the Brussels public ahead of Belgium's last-16 match against the U.S. on Monday in Seattle.
"What is a red card? When we give a red card it's because the player made a serious mistake, and that's why they were given a red card. So why is it now that the player who was no longer supposed to play, how did they manage to erase that mistake? Did the referee make a mistake in doing his job? I don't think so," said Therese Kpooubie, who works in the Belgian capital.
"If there was any influence on the decision to allow the player to play again, honestly, it's simply shameful," she said.
Bastien Noel, another passerby in Brussels, said the "Red Devils", as the national team are widely known, should use the decision to motivate them further in their bid for victory against the U.S.
"If it's confirmed, then we'll just have to accept it. But I don't think it's going to change the way the Red Devils have to battle on the pitch and show that this kind of situation can't affect their desire to win and their determination to go further in the competition," he said.
Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot also expressed incredulity over the situation.
"If it was really this phone call behind this incomprehensible decision, then that would be flouting the most basic rules of football and sport," Prevot said in a statement sent to reporters.
Bill White, the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium, denied any interference by Trump in the matter.
"President Trump would never interfere with the inner workings of FIFA. President Trump thanked FIFA after the fact," he wrote in a post on Instagram.
Kpooubie, wearing earrings in the colours of the Belgian flag, urged her country to get justice on the soccer pitch.
"They need to stay focused. They must shine, they must succeed. Come on, Red Devils, we're behind you. You'll always be the Devils for me, forever!"
(Reporting by Yiming Woo, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Inti Landauro; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
