Team USA star Falorin Balogun is able to play in his team’s Round of 16 game after a stunning reversal by FIFA, a move that has led to attention on his birthright citizenship.
Balogun was initially tossed from Team USA’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina after receiving a red card, which would have carried an automatic suspension for the team’s game on Monday against Belgium. But after some intervention from President Donald Trump, FIFA ruled that his punishment would be suspended for a year, allowing him to play.
As Reuters noted, the intervention carried a “striking irony” given President Trump’s attempt to overturn the very circumstances that allowed Balogun to play for the United States.
Folarin Balogun Earned U.S. Citizenship After Unlikely Birth
The Reuters report noted that Trump has called for an end to birthright citizenship, taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court before being denied this month. The report called Balogun an “accidental citizen,” earning birthright citizenship after his heavily pregnant mother was unable to leave the United States.
“Balogun acquired U.S. citizenship by birth after his Nigerian mother was unable to return home from a trip to New York because she was too far advanced in her pregnancy to fly,” the report noted. “She took her newborn son back to Britain when he was one month old, where he would grow up before eventually choosing to represent the United States.”
Falorin Balogun’s Case Draws Attention to Birthright Citizenship
FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play in his team’s game against Belgium has led many to defend the idea of birthright citizenship, which allows any child born in the United States to gain citizenship, with a few rare exceptions.
Jorge Loweree, the managing director of programs at the American Immigration Council, noted that Balogun’s role in Team USA shows the importance of birthright citizenship.
“Mr. Balogun’s case is an extraordinary example of the good that is made available to us by things like birthright citizenship, giving people an opportunity that they would not have otherwise, to be their best and to contribute to the United States in ways that benefit all of us,” Loweree said, via Reuters.
Team USA coach Mauricio Pochettino announced on Monday that Balogun would be in the starting XI, keeping the same starting group intact from the team’s Round of 32 win. Pochettino praised Balogun for his strong play through the first several games of the World Cup.
“To have all the players available always is a good news,” Pochettino told reporters at a pregame interview, via ESPN. “To have the possibility to have Balo again with us and being available is important for the team.
“He scored three goals and I think he is doing a fantastic job.”
Pochettino said he was staying focused on the match, noting that he had nothing to do with FIFA’s decision to suspend the punishment for Balogun.
“I wasn’t involved,” Pochettino said. “I was focusing on trying to prepare the team to face Belgium, working in different [areas], working in trying to be focused and to play tomorrow with our best, in our best condition.”
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