President Donald Trump confirmed Monday he asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the “horrible” decision to hand a red card to star US striker Folarin Balogun, but said he did not request it be overturned.
“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “All I did was ask for a review, I didn’t say you have to do this.”
Trump defends his intervention
“That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” Trump said, describing the incident that led to the red card in the round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which the US won 2-0.
The Republican president — who said “I understand sports really well” — acknowledged that he was initially unaware that the red card meant Balogun was barred from the next game, calling the rule “very unfair.”
Trump also took aim at Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who made the call, describing him as “a little bit suspect if you check his past.”
FIFA suspends ban after Trump call
Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban, which cannot be appealed by the player’s team. But world football’s governing body said Sunday the ban would now be suspended for a year after the personal call from Trump.
“We’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud,” the US president said Monday. “The other way, if they beat us… I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020,” Trump said, referring to his false claims of widespread fraud in the vote he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Belgian officials slam decision
The decision to allow Balogun to play has been slammed by Belgian football officials, who released a statement saying they were “astonished” by a move that is in “direct contradiction” with FIFA’s own rules.
Top scorer Balogun has been key to the USA’s progress in the tournament, scoring three times, and his absence against Belgium would have been a major blow to the team in the upcoming game in Seattle. The decision to suspend the ban was taken by FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
