The US Men's Team is now actually a tragic figure

We now have the story. The Red was rough, but that's the game, right? You just drive on and come up with a new strategy. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the literal president of the United States is calling in on your behalf. You didn't ask for it. We don't even need to ascribe high lofty morals to the US side, but who in their right mind would think, "huh, how about i ask the world's most important man to adjudicate my workplace squabble?"

Now they are forever haunted. They can't NOT play w/ Balogun. Officially now there's no mechanism, the red card is "suspended". If they shelf him, it's just bad policy. But if they win with him, everyone will decry it as cheating and fraud etc to the high heavens (not incorrectly, mind you).

If you're an actual player on the US Team, now, you're haunted. There's no way forward. You didn't do any of this to yourself, and now either way a huge fraction of the total population of planet earth will hate you.

It's actually super sad.