2026 World Cup: ‘Perhaps I regret not being more involved’ – Mauricio Pochettino on Folarin Balogun saga

Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he regrets not playing a bigger role in the decision to appeal Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red card, saying the controversy surrounding the case changed the atmosphere around the United States team before their heavy defeat to Belgium.

Balogun was sent off during the Americans’ 2-0 round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which initially meant he would miss the last-16 meeting with Belgium. FIFA’s disciplinary committee later suspended his one-match ban for a year, clearing him to feature against the Belgians.

The decision sparked significant controversy after US President Donald Trump said he had contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the case to be reviewed.

Pochettino, reflecting on the episode in an interview with Futbol de Primera, said he wished he had been more involved in the process that followed the Bosnia match.

“Perhaps I regret not having been more involved when the Bosnia match ended, in the situation that followed and generated everything negative that happened after,”

‘The energy changed’

The Americans ultimately suffered a 4-1 defeat to Belgium, ending their campaign in the last 16.

Pochettino said the controversy surrounding the change to Balogun’s suspension affected the environment in which the match was played and altered the emotional dynamics around his squad.

“No one understood why it happened, and as a football person, I know how things can shift the energy in an instant. After that, the energy changed. The match was then played under different parameters,”

Belgium’s players and officials had expressed frustration over the decision, with the episode becoming a major talking point before the last-16 contest. The Belgian federation subsequently challenged the decision and has continued to demand greater clarity from FIFA over the handling of the case.

Pochettino, however, stopped short of blaming the defeat entirely on the controversy. He said he did not believe a different tactical plan, strategy or selection would have altered what happened on the pitch against Belgium.

The 54-year-old also suggested that the manner in which the appeal was handled should prompt US Soccer to reconsider its internal decision-making structure for similar situations.

Pochettino calls for tighter decision-making

According to Pochettino, sporting matters of this nature should be handled by a smaller group with a clear footballing perspective rather than involving too many decision-makers.

“I think about the decisions made after the Bosnia match. These things need to be managed internally within a much more limited structure,”

He added:

“The decisions need to come from very few people, from a sports perspective and with commonsense. This applies regardless of what a committee or a regulation may decide after.”

The Balogun case has continued to generate repercussions beyond the US camp. Belgium’s football federation said earlier this month that it would not support Infantino’s bid for another term as FIFA president without satisfactory answers concerning the suspension of Balogun’s ban and other governance matters.

The Belgian federation said FIFA had not adequately explained why the suspension was granted or how similar cases would be treated in future. It has requested that the matter be discussed at the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15.

Pochettino has since moved on to preparing the US for the next phase of his tenure, with the team scheduled to face Peru in Orlando before further friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Canada.