Belgium players mock Donald Trump with YMCA dance in dressing room after beating USA

Belgium’s players mocked Donald Trump with his dance to YMCA in the dressing room after knocking the United States out of the World Cup.

The World Cup co-hosts crashed out of the tournament at the last-16 stage as Belgium sealed an impressive 4-1 victory in Seattle.

The match was steeped in controversy after FIFA‘s unprecedented decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the previous round, which allowed him to play against Belgium.

Before kick-off, Trump admitted that he had personally contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to encourage a ‘review’ of Balogun’s red card and called the Brazilian referee, Raphael Claus, ‘very suspect’.

Belgium’s players delivered their response on the pitch as they mimicked Trump’s infamous dance to YMCA after Romelu Lukaku had scored their fourth goal against the United States in injury time.

However, during Belgium’s celebrations in the dressing room, YMCA was played on the speakers as the players sang along and copied Trump’s dance once again.

The official X account of the Belgium men’s national team also joined in the celebrations, posting pictures of Lukaku with the caption: ‘Overturn this.’

Meanwhile, the Belgium manager, Rudi Garcia, also revealed that Balogunapproached him after the game.

‘Balogun came to talk to me, I liked that,’ Garcia said.

‘It’s not his fault, he’s not the one to blame. I told him that. I appreciate he came to talk to me.’

Speaking at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump went into detail about how he called on Infantino to overturn Balogun’s red card.

‘I spoke to Gianni, who’s highly respected,’ Trump said at the Oval Office on Monday.

‘I saw the play and I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well and that wasn’t a foul, that wasn’t even an infraction, that was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other.

‘These were two great athletes that got tangled up and this referee, who is a little bit suspect, if you check his past. I don’t want to say that, because I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect.

‘He made a call that nobody could believe. He [Balogun] didn’t do anything wrong and he’s our best player, or one of our best players… and he [the referee] gave him a red card.

‘It’s very unfair, you can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who’s highly respected [Infantino] and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold.’

Responding to the backlash over the decision to suspend Balogun’s ban for a year, Infantino issued a statement which read: ‘I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.

‘FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.

‘Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.

‘Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues.

‘During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.’

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