President Donald Trump confirmed on 6 July that he had personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card shown to United States striker Folarin Balogun, though he insisted he had only requested a review rather than demanded the decision 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.” He went on to dispute that any offence had taken place at all. “That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” he said.
Trump, who described himself as someone who understands sport well, admitted he had not initially realised the red card would rule Balogun out of the following match, calling the rule surrounding automatic suspensions “very unfair.” He also directed criticism at Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who made the original decision, describing him as “a little bit suspect if you check his past.”
Balogun had been set to miss the round of 16 tie against Belgium after receiving a straight red card following a video review for stepping on the ankle of a Bosnian defender during the USA’s 2-0 win in the round of 32. Under FIFA regulations, a straight red card triggers an automatic one match ban that cannot be appealed by the player’s team.
US media reported that the decision prompted several days of lobbying by the Trump administration in an effort to have the ban reversed, involving officials including Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly called for the red card to be rescinded. Following Trump’s personal intervention, FIFA announced on 5 July that the suspension would be held over for a probationary period of one year, meaning Balogun would only serve the ban if he committed a similar offence within that timeframe.
Trump struck a defiant tone over the outcome of the upcoming match. “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,” he said. He then added a more combative remark referencing his unfounded claims about the 2020 US election. “The other way, if they beat us, I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020,” he said.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from Belgian football officials, who issued a statement describing themselves as “astonished” by a ruling they said stood in direct contradiction with FIFA’s own regulations.
Balogun has been central to the USA’s progress at the tournament, scoring three goals, and his unavailability against Belgium would have represented a significant blow to the team’s hopes in Seattle. The decision to suspend his ban was ultimately taken by FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
