COUNTY KILDARE, Ireland — Youri Tielemans has said that FIFA‘s shock decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card helped inspire Belgium’s performance against the United States in their World Cup knockout tie.
Balogan was granted permission to play in the last-16 despite being sent off in the round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina. It followed an intervention from Donald Trump who asked FIFA to review the ban.
Days of controversy — during which UEFA said FIFA had crossed a “red line” — ended with Belgium winning 4-1. And Tielemans has hinted that a sense of injustice was behind Belgium’s dominant display.
“Yeah, I think that is part of the game, you know,” said the Manchester United midfielder.
“The celebrations afterwards were nice and funny and it was all good.
“We were surprised by the decision to revert the red card and his suspension.
“Now, for us, it did not really change anything other than the preparation leading up to the game because it is a different type of player than the other player that was meant to play. But other than that, we were very calm and we just accepted our fate and tried to have a good game.”
Tielemans’ World Cup campaign was brought to an abrupt end when a late injury ruled him out of Belgium’s quarterfinal tie with eventual winners Spain.
Read more:UEFA, Concacaf, AFC accuse FIFA of ‘breach of trust,’ ‘deception’ over World Cup plan
The 29-year-old suffered injury problems last season and was sidelined for two spells between September and November and again between January and April.
Now fit again and training with his new United teammates in Ireland, the midfielder is in line to make his second appearance of preseason against Leeds United in Dublin on Wednesday.
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“The thing is, at the World Cup, I think we played 120 minutes against Senegal, and from there we had less time in between games,” he said.
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“So we played the U.S. I think three or four days later, and then three days later we played against Spain. In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason.
“I do not think I am a player that I absolutely need a rest. Obviously, there are a lot of games and the manager needs to manage the team, but when I am good, I am good, you know.
“Unfortunately, my body is, when it does not go well, then I will know straight away and I will alert the manager, but it does not happen often.”
