Prince Harry, who made a surprise appearance at the TIME100 sports gala in New York on Thursday, sent waves of socks featuring his photo with a star.
The Duke of Sussex, in his first public engagement after spending a week in England, posed with an American celebrity embroiled in controversy following Donald Trump’s personal intervention to overturn his World Cup suspension.
At the lavish event, the Duke was recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sport 2026 for creating the Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for injured and ill military personnel.
However, his photo with American striker Folarin Balogun went viral on social media.
Balogun was sent off with a red card in the United States’ Round of 16 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the FIFA Disciplinary Committee later suspended his one-match suspension for twelve months, allowing him to play in the Americans’ Round of 16 loss to Belgium.
The decision sparked fierce debate, with Trump acknowledging that he had personally intervened on behalf of Balogun and the American co-hosts.
On Tuesday, human rights organization FairSquare filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee, alleging that FIFA President Gianni Infantino violated political neutrality rules in his dealings with the US president over the issue.
Balogun revealed that he anticipated the backlash that would follow Trump’s involvement.
“My first reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team, but when I started thinking about it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy, and I could almost see in my teammates a little bit of nervousness, because it’s something so unique,” he said.
Harry was recognized alongside prominent sports figures, including LeBron James and Lindsey Vonn, in the leader category. Birmingham will host the Invictus Games next summer, with around 550 competitors from around 25 nations taking part.
