Bradley Belhomme’s distraught family are desperate for answers

The family of a 20-year-old man left fighting for his life following a quad bike crash have issued a desperate plea for help.

Bradley Belhomme, from Salford, Greater Manchester, suffered catastrophic head injuries during a lads’ holiday to Zante, in Greece, after a collision with a coach last Friday (July 3), his loved ones said.

Bradley had flown out to the party hotspot with a group of friends on Thursday (July 2).

The party had rented quads to ride on on the Greek island when disaster struck and he was involved in the serious crash while riding with another friend, who was also hospitalised, reports the M.E.N..

The 20-year-old, who is ‘loved by everyone,’ is now in intensive care and in a coma after being transported to a hospital in Attica, in Athens, mainland Greece, his family has said.

His mum Leanne Rabbetts said: “He went on the holiday on Thursday and everything was fine. I spoke to him when he arrived, but then on the Friday afternoon I got the call saying there had been a crash.

“I was thinking ‘what the hell happened?’. I had to ring the hospital in Zante at the time, but they couldn’t give me much information.

“Then I got another call that night saying he was being moved to Athens because of the condition he was in.

“He has serious head trauma so he’s getting better care there. I flew out on Sunday as soon as I could and have been here every day. We can only spend half an hour with him.

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“The doctors tried to bring him out of a coma yesterday but he wasn’t responding. Then they tried again to wake him up today [Monday] and he had two fits.

“They don’t know if it’s a bleed on the brain, so he has to have an MRI scan to see what has happened and the damage to his brain, but he isn’t responding at all at the moment.”

Leanne said they believe that Bradley had travel insurance for the trip, but that they have not yet been able to confirm details about this and do not have access to his phone. They say have also been in touch with the British Embassy for support.

“All I really know is that he’s been on a quad bike with his friends, and they’ve all rented them.

“As he’s turned around a corner, I’ve been told there’s been a crash with a coach. We didn’t know how serious it was until we got here.

“His friend he was sharing a room with stayed with him in hospital in Zante and came to Athens when he got transferred, but obviously they couldn’t stay with him.”

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Appeals have since been shared across social media from friends, with fundraising events and walks also organised by members of the local community and friends to help raise money to pay for hospital bills in the interim.

“Because of the head trauma, we don’t even know when he will be able to come home or the situation,” Bradley’s uncle Adam said.

“We can’t do anything. We are just waiting for the scan and trying to make sure everything is covered at the moment, because if the insurance is invalid it’s a big bill.

“At the moment the main thing is Bradley and making sure he is okay and eventually getting him up and home.

“The local community and friends have all donated and have been brilliant. Bradley is a loveable lad who has gone away to have a lads’ holiday and enjoy himself. He’s a hardworking boy and unfortunately, being young, you often make the wrong choices.

“It’s all questions and no answers at the moment. And out here there’s a huge language barrier.

“He’s in intensive care and we have to wear full PPE to see him for just half an hour. We are like a fish out of water.”

You can donate to the GoFundMe here.

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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday as France’s president met with his Syrian counterpart in a landmark visit.

Emmanuel Macron had entered the presidential palace to meet Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa when the explosions happened near the Four Seasons Hotel. Syrian authorities did not immediately comment on the incident.

Syrian media reported that Macron was staying at the Four Seasons. The French president’s office said he was safe and that his meeting with al-Sharaa was continuing. Macron is the first major Western leader to visit Syria since al-Sharaa came to power and his visit comes before he heads to a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Macron played a major role in pushing Europe and the United States to drop most sanctions on Syria. He arrived in the country Monday night with an economic delegation, and is scheduled to sign memorandums of understanding with his counterpart as the battered country tries to lure investors to help it rebuild after 14 years of war.

State media, citing an unnamed security official, reported that the two blasts in the heart of the capital were caused by explosive devices. A large plume of smoke could be seen from the site. The area is on a busy street in Damascus and is near the headquarters of the Tourism Ministry and the Damascus National Museum.

Footage widely circulated on social media showed a van and a motorcycle on fire and blood stains on the street.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

The incident comes days after an explosive device was detonated in a cafe near the Justice Palace in Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding more than 20.

The explosions are a blow for al-Sharaa, who came to power after leading an insurgency that ousted Bashar Assad in 2024.

He has since pushed to assert full control and bring stability in war-torn Syria, appeal to minorities skeptical of his Islamist-led rule, and win the support of Western governments who were skeptical of his past leadership of the former al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. His government has promised political and economic reform after decades of autocratic rule.

While Syria’s new rulers have wrestled with violence involving different groups in the country as they work to assert control, the capital has largely been peaceful during the turbulent period.

Kirk was addressing a crowd from under a tent on 10 September as part of his American Comeback tour of college campuses, during which he invited attendees to debate him.

A shot rang out as he was speaking about gun violence; Kirk slumped over to the side.

Chris Bagley, one of four law enforcement witnesses expected to take the stand during the week-long hearing, had been stationed on a building above and realised from the noise that it had come from a rifle, not a handgun.

In court on Monday, he described a chaotic scene of people shouting and running and told the court that he was informed by law enforcement that a shooter had been taken into custody.

But he said he discovered suspicious evidence leading him to believe it might not be the right suspect.

Bagley said he found a screwdriver and an impression in gravel on a roof indicative of a sniper and then viewed security footage showing an individual dropping down and escaping from the area.

He described a telling impression the suspect had left behind.

“I could see the disturbance of gravel; to me, it looks like a sniper pad, a person that has been laying in a prone position, and you’ve got markings of elbows, knees and feet – where somebody was in the line of sight of where Charlie’s tent was.”

Robinson’s defense attorney Kathryn Nestor voiced several objections throughout the testimony, asking him about staffing, planning and surveillance on the day of Kirk’s event.

Another witness, David Hull, told the court he’d been working as an agent with Utah’s State Bureau of Investigation at the time of Kirk’s shooting. He testified that he reviewed surveillance video from the day of the shooting and saw Robinson “on campus … approximately four times throughout the day”.

Hull testified that Robinson appeared at the school twice before the attack, then again at the time of the shooting – then returned that evening, hours after Kirk’s death.

Prosecutors also played home surveillance footage from a neighbourhood near campus which they say shows Robinson parking his gray Dodge, then returning later and driving away.

The hearing is set to continue all week and will examine evidence and witnesses in the case to determine whether prosecutors have enough to present it before a jury at trial.

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Uefa laid down new battles lines on Tuesday, when voicing strong opposition to the Balogun decision.

European football’s governing body said Fifa had “crossed a red line” and described it as an “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision”.

But this was not the first time Uefa has crossed swords with Fifa.

In May 2025, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin led a group of European delegates in staging a walk-out during a break at the Fifa Congress.

Infantino had been on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East alongside Trump and arrived two hours 17 minutes late.

Uefa has looked to score political points during the World Cup, too.

No sooner had Artan landed at home in Somalia last month than Uefa announced he had been invited to referee the Uefa Super Cup between Paris St-Germain and Aston Villa on 12 August.

And throughout this year, Uefa has been eager to point out how cheap Euro 2028 tickets are compared to the World Cup. It will not introduce hydration breaks, or red cards for players who cover their mouth.

Infantino, remember, came from Uefa. For many years he was the man who presented the Champions League draws.

He may not quite be persona non grata there these days – he gave a speech at the Uefa Congress in February – but there is clear friction.

Taking all this into account, Infantino’s position must surely be in doubt?

On the contrary. Infantino is popular with many federations around the world – and a lot of that is down to Fifa’s development of the game.

Infantino’s Fifa Forward programme has funded football projects across the globe, and he has created opportunities through the expanded World Cup.

Sixteen extra nations now qualify – the vast majority from the confederations with less depth. Europe only got three of the additional spots.

This World Cup has shown that, below the top level, Asia and Concacaf have a lot of work to do to be competitive.

But Infantino has provided the dream, the hope that nations who never before could play at the World Cup might just get there. Like Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

Despite all the criticism over the 48-team format, it gave Cape Verde the chance to live their dream.

And it will allow less traditional football nations to grow their game and get stronger – and surely that is a positive for football around the world?

The catch?

Tournaments like the World Cup, and the huge ticket prices, pay for these projects.

This year, Fifa is expected to bring in $9bn (£7.9bn)

Uefa may oppose much of what Fifa and Infantino stand for, but European football is the rich man of the game. Largely, it can fund itself.

The rest of the game depends on Infantino and the money Fifa generates.

There are 211 countries within Fifa. Each gets a vote on the presidency, with 106 needed to win an election.

Let’s look at the maths.

In April, Conmebol – the South American confederation – said its 10 countries would back Infantino.

Three weeks later, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) confirmed unanimous backing from its 54 member associations.

Shortly afterwards, the Asian Football Confederation’s 47 nations followed suit.

Infantino already has 111 votes. He cannot be beaten.

Even if Uefa thought it could muster a candidate capable of mounting a challenge, the race is already run.

Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023. It would take something truly remarkable for anyone to stand against him, let alone beat him in 2027.

Mel C has revealed that a row with Victoria Beckham at the 1996 BRIT Awards nearly led to her being kicked out of the Spice Girls.

The singer, 52, was one of the members of the band alongside Victoria, Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Emma Bunton during their rise to fame in the late 1990s.

Mel has now shared that she was involved in a clash with Victoria where she told the designer to ‘f**k off,’ and she feared she was going to ‘lose everything’ after learning her bandmates were ‘disgusted’ by her comments.

Victoria has distanced herself from the Spice Girls in recent years, and she failed to join the group for their reunion tour in 2019.

Mel shared the story of the clash on The Louis Theroux Podcast, after detailing how she felt like the band would ‘police’ each other to avoid any members from going ‘off the rails.’

Louis then revealed: ‘Early on, you had an incident which you talk about at the ’96 Brit Awards. Because you were just now talking about policing each other, and there was a moment where you were policed by the band mates. 

‘They felt, and it sounds so trivial, you’d taken your hair out, so you no longer had a ponytail, and this was before you even had released any music, but you were at the Brits, so you were under scrutiny, and your fellow band mates thought, “What are you doing? You’re f*****g with, uh, the look, the look of the band. We’ve all got certain hair that we have.” 

‘And they criticised you, and you told one of them to f**k off, and then the next day they all came on very heavy, sort of telling you like that was, you were out of line, your behaviour was disgusting.’

Mel then shared: ‘I went into terror because I thought I was going to lose everything. You know, those dreams as a child, which now were a possibility, I might have f*cked it all up.

‘And I thought it was very trivial as well because, to put some more meat on the bones of that evening, it was the Brit Awards in 1996, which fall around February time. So, we hadn’t released anything. Nobody in the public knew us. 

‘But in the industry, people had started talking, and we were there, signed to Virgin Records, and we were sitting on a table with Lenny Kravitz, obviously, we were these young girls so this was an amazing night for us. We had a great night. 

‘We had a few champagnes. […] We were going to find our car and whatever the, the situation was where I just turned around and said to Victoria, “Oh, f**k off.” 

‘Unbeknownst to me, go home, go to bed, wake up the next morning, and I was in a lot of trouble. I was living with Mel B at the time. 

‘We were living in Watford, and Geri also lived in Watford, and they were both there when I got up. And yeah, they were just disgusted with my behaviour.

‘You know when you’ve had a night out, and you wake up in the morning, and you’ve got beer fear, right?. You think, “Oh, f*ck, I know what I did last night.” 

The singer was one of the members of the band during their rise to fame in the late 1990s (the band are pictured without Mel B at Emma Bunton’s birthday bash last year)

‘I didn’t even have that. I just woke up going, “Oh, last, last night was fun,” where I had completely brushed off that situation. 

‘But obviously, it had really affected people in a way I hadn’t realised. So I was in trouble, and then Simon wanted to speak to me, and I was told in no uncertain terms if anything ever happened like that again, I would be gone. 

‘So that completely freaked me out, one, because I didn’t realise I’d done anything that terribly bad, and two, because my actions may have led to me losing everything I’d ever wanted, you know?’

Mel previously shared that she is still holding out hope for a Spice Girls reunion, and said she’d love to see the band headline Glastonbury Festival.

It follows rumours that the Spice Girls are set to virtually reunite on stage in the form of holographic avatars, like those seen in the ABBA Voyage show in East London. 

Victoria said on SiriusXM radio this week: ‘I think it would be a great idea. The principle of it would be great. We were talking about it at dinner, but we’ll see.’

 Addressing the rumours, Mel responded: ‘That would be an amazing thing for us to do, for that legacy to be able to live on, but personally, I want to see us on stage together. 

‘I think we need to do some more live stuff, while we still can. There’s so many opportunities, we could do Glastonbury, we could to the Sphere [in Las Vegas], there’s lots of things I’d like to do and I’m working on them.’

She added of her own tour following the release of her new album: ‘I am doing a world tour, I haven’t done a world tour for over 20 years, but the impact of this record has allowed me to go international again.

‘I love performing, anyone who knows me [knows that]. It just doesn’t stop and I’m having the time of my life. 

‘Once I get up there, honestly, it’s given me so much energy, it reminds me of why you do it. The people who appreciate your music, it’s the best thing.’

Melanie recently reunited with Scary Spice Mel B on stage as she promoted music from her album, with the duo performing Spice Up Your Life. 

Listen to the full interview on The Louis Theroux podcast, available whereever you get your podcasts. 

Explosions occurred in the Syrian capital of Damascus near a hotel where French president Emmanuel Macron was due to be staying.

Roads ‌were sealed off and security ‌measures were implemented after ‌the blast. Images of the scene show a plume of black smoke and multiple fires as locals gather round

A witness ⁠heard explosions in the vicinity and smoke was seen rising, according to Reuters news agency.

The French president did not hear any explosions while on his way to meet Sharaa, the Elysee palace said.

Macron was received by the Syrian president soon after the explosions occurred, according to Syrian state TV, making him the first major western leader to visit the war-torn country since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited in April but Macron is the first leader from western Europe or North America to do so.

The French president’s visit comes during a period of relative calm in the Middle East after the monthlong war in Iran and Lebanon.

He will travel next to Ankara, Turkey, for the Nato summit, where Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa is also expected to attend and hold a high-profile meeting with US president Donald Trump.

“I have come to express France’s commitment to the Syrian people. For a sovereign Syria, united in its diversity and at peace with its neighbors,” Macron said in a post on X. “Together, let us open a new chapter of stability and peace.”

France supports all those who can “contribute to build a new Syria” in line with the aspirations expressed since the 2011 Arab Spring, Macron’s office said, referring to a period of widespread uprisings across the Middle East that called for political change and reform.

Macron will “engage directly with diverse Syrian people” after he meets with al-Sharaa, his office said.

More follows on this breaking news story…

Becky Small, 33, says she was twice misdiagnosed by GPs before finally getting her terrifying diagnosis after visiting A&E

A mum of three who suffered bloating so severe it felt as though she was “nine months’ pregnant” claims she was misdiagnosed by two GPs before to being told she had stage four cancer.

Becky Small, 33, a logistics manager from Hampshire, noticed “severe bloating” in her abdomen in April, describing it as feeling “really hard” – uncomfortable enough to disrupt her sleep.

She also experienced pain on the right side of her back. She visited a GP who examined her, requested a urine sample and prescribed anti-inflammatory medication.

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When her condition showed no signs of improvement, Becky went to a different GP at another practice, who she claims didn’t carry out any tests and “didn’t even feel” her stomach before prescribing medication for suspected gastroenteritis – an infection of the intestines.

By early May, Becky described her abdomen as “rock solid”, leading her to attend A&E. There two doctors “examined (her) properly” and were “shocked” that neither blood tests or CT scans had previously been done.

That same evening, Becky was told that doctors had discovered two lesions on her ovaries and one on her kidney, and her immediate thought was that she was “going to die”.

After a biopsy, Becky finally received her diagnosis of stage four metastatic ovarian cancer on June 1, before starting chemotherapy four days later.

Becky’s husband Paul, 34, has been one of her biggest supporters, especially when they told their two eldest children, Logan, 10, and Harley, eight, about her cancer diagnosis.

As for their daughter, Iris, four, Becky said she knows her mother is unwell, but she is “too young to understand” what cancer really means.

Becky said: “My daughter starts school this year and that is the bit that scares me the most – that I’m not going to see her start school. I just want to be a mum to my kids and to be a wife to my husband.”

According to the NHS, the main symptoms of ovarian cancer can include bloating, pain in your tummy or the area between your hips, no appetite and increased urgency or frequency of peeing, along with back pain.

‘The bloating was getting bigger‘

Despite a diagnosis at 16 of polycystic ovaries which made later conceiving her children difficult, Becky said she has always been “quite a fit and healthy person”, and going to the GP was “very rare” for her.

So, when she started experiencing bloating on April 22, she initially thought it might just be linked to her polycystic ovaries.

She said: “My stomach was going really hard all the time. I couldn’t fit any trousers on and it was just really uncomfortable. I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t even roll over in bed because it was so painful and so big.”

Becky said she visited a GP on April 27, who examined her abdomen and believed it might be inflammation, so he asked her to do a urine test which later came back as clear.

She said she was also prescribed medication to help reduce the suspected inflammation and was told it should “go down within a couple of days” – but Becky said she saw no improvement “whatsoever”.

“The bloating was getting bigger,” she said.

On April 30, Becky saw a different GP and she claims the doctor did not carry out any tests or examine her abdomen.

Instead, she said she was prescribed medication for gastroenteritis and was told she should be “back to normal” within a week.

By May 5, Becky said: “My stomach was rock solid, it was uncomfortable and it was painful. The only way to describe it was like I was nine months’ pregnant. I couldn’t breathe or walk properly too.”

‘Thinking that you’re going to die is a horrible feeling’

Becky took herself to A&E that morning, where she was examined by two doctors and had a cannula – a fine tube – inserted, before she had blood taken and a CT scan.

She said: “Two doctors actually examined me properly and were shocked that I hadn’t had tests done.”

By that same evening, Becky said she was taken into a side room and made aware that doctors had found two lesions on her ovaries and one on her kidney.

Becky said: “My three children are my world, so thinking that you’re going to die is a horrible feeling.”

A biopsy on May 20 confirmed nine days later that Becky had stage four metastatic cancer, with an oncologist specifying on June 1 that it had originated on her ovaries.

Becky said she was in and out of hospital during the wait between the conversation on May 5 and the initial cancer diagnosis on May 29.

“It was a hell of a long wait,” she said.

Becky said she has had two sessions of chemotherapy since June 5 and is thankful she is yet to experience “any major side effects”.

She will have four more rounds of chemotherapy, to be completed by September, as well as a full hysterectomy – where the womb and cervix is removed – in August.

For now, Becky said she does not want to know her prognosis because she wants to “enjoy what time” she has left without worrying that she “may not wake up in the morning”.

Paul and Becky decided against telling their youngest child about her mother’s cancer diagnosis because she is “too young”, but Becky said telling their two eldest children was “the hardest conversation” she has ever had in her life.

She said: “I was in hospital at the time. We were just honest with them and said if they have questions or they want to talk, then they can.”

A fundraiser has since been launched to help support Becky and her family financially while she goes through treatment.

Becky said the donations will allow her family to make memories like “going to the park and having an ice cream”.

She added: “It’s just things I want them to remember if I’m not here.”

Looking back on her cancer journey, Becky said: “I think I probably should have pushed to have extra tests done.

“If they had just run some more tests before, then I may be further along than where I am now.

“If I hadn’t taken myself to A&E, then I probably wouldn’t be here now.”

Becky believes ovarian cancer is “silent and deadly”, so she is urging young women in particular to watch out for the symptoms and get tests if they have any concerns.

She said: “I don’t want other women or even my own daughter to have to go through what I’m going through.”

You can donate to Becky’s GoFundMe here.

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR and JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR

Published: 08:13 BST, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 08:29 BST, 7 July 2026

Keir Starmer is taking his final bow on the world stage today – and it could involve another kicking from Donald Trump.

The ousted PM is heading for the Nato summit in Turkey with less than a fortnight until he hands over to Andy Burnham.

But Sir Keir will be bracing for a backlash over his shambolic defence investment plan. After months of Whitehall wrangling and the resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey, the £15billion extra over five years turned out to be largely unfunded – and gave no timetable for 3 per cent of GDP going on the military. 

The US president has pushed the alliance into agreeing an even higher 3.5 per cent target, and is widely expected to make his displeasure clear at the gathering of leaders.

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He has already repeatedly clashed with Sir Keir, branding him ‘no Churchill’ for refusing to join the chaotic Iran war.

Keir Starmer is taking his final bow on the world stage today – and it could involve another kicking from Donald Trump

Mr Trump has pushed Nato into agreeing a 3.5 per cent target for defence spending, and is widely expected to make his displeasure clear at the gathering of leaders

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The PM has only committed to an ‘ambition’ of defence spending reaching 3 per cent of GDP in the 2030s

Mr Trump reportedly called Nigel Farage to congratulate him when Sir Keir was forced to announce his resignation last month.

Despite it being Sir Keir’s final outing on the world stage, the two men are not due to meet one-on-one. 

The PM will tell Nato allies that the DIP represents a major step on the way to hitting Nato’s target of spending 3.5 per cent on defence by 2035. But it only commits the UK to reaching 2.7 per cent by the end of the decade.

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New Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said Labour would ‘commit the resources to evidence the trajectory to 3.5 per cent’ at a spending review next year. But neither No10 nor Mr Burnham have so far agreed to the timetable.

Nato chief Mark Rutte said he expected member states to produce ‘clear, concrete and credible’ plans to hit the 3.5 per cent target.

Speaking at the weekend, Mr Trump said ‘weak’ British leaders had allowed the country to become a ‘deindustrialised welfare zone unable to stop Third World men arriving on boats’.

Downing Street said Sir Keir and Mr Trump will be seated next to each other at a meeting tomorrow and insisted that their relationship remains ‘constructive’.

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Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch is warning that Britain’s defence policy is becoming a ‘pantomime’ at the moment threats are at their most serious since the end of the Cold War.

In a speech this morning, Mrs Badenoch will urge Mr Burnham to take up her offer to help push through welfare cuts to help fund defence investment. 

But she will warn that the would-be prime minister has ‘said nothing’ about the growing threats facing the UK.

‘We are sending an outgoing Prime Minister who is now completely powerless to that Nato summit,’ she will say.

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‘And he is taking with him a Defence Investment Plan which he knows is not fit for purpose. With barely half of the additional funding that our armed forces need.’

Ahead of the summit, Putin sent a clear message to defence chiefs over Russia’s willingness to threaten its member states, including Britain.

It has emerged a Russian aircraft conducted a ‘danger close’ low pass of the HMS Prince of Wales while the £3.5billion carrier was operating in the Norwegian Sea.

After ignoring requests from the carrier’s control room, the Bear-F maritime patrol aircraft then dropped tens of sonobuoy projectiles in close proximity to HMS Prince of Wales which could have injured sailors or damaged the carrier.

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Confrontation: An F-35 jet launched from HMS Prince of Wales shadows a Russian military aircraft as it drops a sonic device, inset

Experts have warned that Vladimir Putin is testing the resolve of the UK

British commanders scrambled two F-35 jets from HMS Prince of Wales to shadow the Russian aircraft in the carrier’s first ‘real-time’ engagement with enemy forces.

The Royal Navy has released information about the July 2nd incident for the first time.

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At the time HMS Prince of Wales was sailing as part of the UK’s Carrier Strike Group which also consisted of the Type-45 destroyer HMS Duncan, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Tidespring which were conducting freedom of navigation patrols in the High North.

The Arctic Sentry patrols are intended to reinforce security. The engagement came just weeks after the UK seized a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the English Channel for the first time and after a Russian fighter jet flew within feet of a Royal Air Force intelligence gathering aircraft conducting a patrol over the Black Sea.

Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin said his team felt a “sense of injustice” over United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban being suspended by Fifa shortly before their World Cup last-16 match.

Balogun, 25, appeared certain to miss the tie in Seattle after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.

But on Sunday Fifa suspended the automatic one-match ban for 12 months, leading to widespread criticism, with Uefa, Belgium and England boss Thomas Tuchel among those speaking out against the ruling.

On Monday US President Donald Trump said he asked Fifa to review Balogun’s ban, which he said would have left a “big stain” on the tournament.

But, despite the American’s star striker being cleared to play and starting the match, Belgium convincingly beat the tournament co-hosts 4-1.

“A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days,”said Belgium and Rangers midfielder Raskin.

“There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.”

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans insisted the affair had boosted his side.

“We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That’s what we did,” he said.

After Belgium scored their fourth goal several of their players were pictured dancing in a style similar to the ‘Trump dance’ – where he rocks his hips and slowly pumps his arms – which gained notoriety during the 2024 US presidential campaign.

The official Instagram account for the Belgium national team also appeared to mock the debacle, posting a picture of striker Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption “overturn this”.