Belgian soccer players mock Donald Trump's YMCA dance after thumping win over USA

The Belgian national soccer team appeared to mock President Donald Trump after scoring the winning goal against the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) in the Round of 16 FIFA World Cup clash on Monday, and later while celebrating their win in their locker room, by mimicking the President's trademark dance. The gesture is being seen by many fans as a direct criticism of Trump's intervention in rescinding a match suspension for the U.S.A's star striker Folarin Balogun. 

The U.S.A. vs. Belgium match was engulfed in controversy after FIFA decided to reverse Balogun's red card suspension. As per FIFA rules, after receiving a red card, a player is sent off the field and suspended from participating in the next match. Balogun received a red card on July 1 during the United States' Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, his one-match suspension was overturned by FIFA before the Round of 16 clash against Belgium after Trump reached out to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the case. 

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) protested the decision and asked FIFA for a copy of the order and an explanation of the process that had been followed. But soccer's governing body believed that RBFA was appealing the decision, and informed Belgian soccer's governing body that a judge had been appointed and that they only had a few hours to appeal it. As per a statement by the RBFA, FIFA itself created an appeal and declared it inadmissible.

The plot thickened even further when Trump came out and said that he was the one who requested the review of the red card in the first place. He believed that Balogun's tackle was not a foul, but rather a coming together of two athletes on the pitch. "I didn't tell him (FIFA President Gianni Infantino) what to do. I can't tell him what to do. I don't believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision. And they made the right decision," he said during a press conference.

Infantino acknowledged that he had calls with President Trump, but distanced himself from playing any role in the suspension being overturned. "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," he wrote in a statement. "I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them."

Several footballing bodies questioned the decision to pull back Balogun's suspension, including Europe's UEFA, which claimed that the "integrity of the game is at stake" in a statement. Ultimately, it did not pay any dividends as the United States men's national soccer team suffered a thumping 4-1 loss. Taking another dig at the President, the Belgian national team also shared a post captioned "overturn this" on its social media handle, posting a picture of Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku celebrating after scoring the winning goal.