U.S. World Cup striker Folarin Balogun said he was happy to have the chance to play against Belgium after being given a red card during the 2-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During the game, Balogun was issued the card after stepping on Tarik Muharemović’s right angle, and that typically means a one-game suspension.

Balogun told “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday he “was in shock” over the red card and didn’t agree with the call, saying “when something’s not intentional, it should never be a red card.”

He added that the skirmish was “just an unfortunate situation, and I think, you know, it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed.”

According to tournament rules, Balogun should have been forced to sit out the Belgium game, but President Donald Trump managed to get the red card repealed so Balogun could play.

“All I did was ask for a review,” the president insisted. “I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this.’”

Trump later admitted that if the team had lost to Belgium without Balogun on the pitch, he would have said: “It was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.”

Balogun admitted to CBS that Trump’s efforts to get the red card repealed before the knockout game against Belgium made things “difficult” for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

“My initial reaction was, you know, I was happy to be back in the team, but when I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was gonna cause a lot of controversy,” Balogun said. “And I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique.

“But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could, but it was difficult, you know? A lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”

The repealed red card made U.S. fans happy but was condemned by pretty much everyone else.

However, Balogun said his teammates gave him “a lot of reassurance” during a tough time.

“It wasn’t something I could change,” he said. “It was just a situation that was unfortunate, which gave me confidence.”

The U.S. ended up losing to Belgium, 4-1, but Balogun insisted his team was prepared and capable of separating “emotion from the job at hand.”

“It’s not something I think was too difficult to be able to separate once we kind of got over the initial announcement that I would be back on the team,” Balogun said. “I think you saw, definitely, it was a difficult game against Belgium, and that can kind of overshadow whether we were focused or not. But … I know we had full concentration going into the game.”

Despite the controversy, Balogun said he hopes to represent the U.S. in the 2030 World Cup.

You can see the complete interview below.