Folarin Balogun has finally spoken. And his words are as honest as the controversy around him has been growing.The United States sniper admitted this week that he knew the president Donald Trump“Intervening to end his one-game World Cup suspension would cause a lot of controversy and the fact that his collapse affected his teammates in the days leading up to the last 16 clash against Belgium.Balogun was shown a straight red card in the USMNT’s Round of 32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for a tackle on Tarik Muharemovic. FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the one-match ban for 12 months, a decision that came after Trump publicly admitted he had intervened on behalf of Balogun and his United States teammates. The move drew swift and fierce criticism from football fans, players and governing bodies around the world.Now, speaking to CBS, Balogun has spoken all directly.“What I did at first was I was happy to be back in the team, but when I started to think about it, I knew that it would bring a lot of conflict, and I could see that there are nerves among my friends, because it is something special,” said Balogun. “When we got closer to the game I tried to focus as much as possible, but it was difficult. A lot of outside noise, and it’s hard to avoid it.”Balogun made it clear that his teammates rallied around him throughout the storm. He said: “He inspired me a lot. “It wasn’t something I would change. It was just an unpleasant experience, which gave me confidence.”On the red card itself, Balogun is still convinced it was the wrong call. “I was scared. It wasn’t even a tackle. When something isn’t intentional it shouldn’t be a red card. It put more pressure on us than we needed,” he said. The United States lost 2-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16, with Balogun starting the game. FIFA has yet to give a reason for the suspension.The controversy has grown beyond football. On Tuesday, the human rights group FairSquare filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee, saying that FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a member of the IOC since 2020, violated the Olympic charter and IOC rules in his handling of the Balogun case.