President Donald Trump has been an elusive figure throughout the World Cup.That was until the middle of last week, when he picked up the phone to call Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, to ask for a review into the one-game suspension facing Folarin Balogun after his red card after fouling Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic.On Sunday, The Athletic exclusively revealed Balogun will be available for the USMNT’s round of 16 tie against Belgium in Seattle, after FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee decided to suspend his ban.President Trump was quick to react to the extraordinary development on Truth Social, thanking FIFA “for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”, before it then emerged that he had discussed the Balogun red card with Infantino earlier in the week, as first reported by AP and the New York Times. A White House spokesperson subsequently confirmed to The Athletic that this was the case.The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources familiar with the situation to build a picture of how Balogun’s reprieve, one of the most controversial decisions in the history of the World Cup, was made over five extraordinary days.Trump’s phone call to Infantino was not the only intervention in the affair from the administration. Lawyers were recruited by the administration, in tandem with Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, and Scott Goodwin, a donor to U.S. Soccer and hedge fund manager. As first reported by the journalist Clay Travis on X, these legal materials were sent on to U.S. Soccer.Goodwin, who assisted U.S. Soccer in raising funds to cover Pochettino’s salary, responded on X to say: “The media is dramatically overstating the involvement of ANYONE outside of US Soccer and its legal team in this process. Like 300 million other Americans I was p—– off by the red card call and inspired by the team’s response to it. I reached out to US Soccer (like many others did) and was told they were engaged in the process with the FIFA Independent Disciplinary Committee and that process needed to run its course.”Lutnick had been seated beside Infantino during the Bosnia match, while Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, told reporters in the White House briefing room on Thursday that the USMNT “got screwed with that red card” and even called for “an appeal process”.Folarin Balogun was shown a red card for this foul on Tarik Muharemovic (Michael Steele/Getty Images)Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, was also actively engaged in the process, working with the lawyers and also seeking updates from FIFA and U.S. Soccer.For FIFA and its president Infantino, it is the latest instance of questions being raised over his relationship with Trump. According to FIFA’s statutes, its participants must abide by political neutrality and political interference is not permitted in its processes.Most famously, Infantino personally invented a FIFA Peace Prize to award to Trump at the World Cup draw in December, after Trump had been overlooked after campaigning to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Infantino’s FIFA also opened an office in Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, meaning that the organization is paying rent to premises owned by the Trump family. FIFA even altered its plans to host the World Cup draw in Las Vegas, after Trump suggested to Infantino that the event be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., a performing arts venue that Trump and his allies took over following his return to power in January 2025.At the draw, Infantino presented the U.S. President with a large trophy, a medal and a certificate for the Peace Prize, as well as organising the Village People to sing Y.M.C.A, which has become Trump’s personal anthem, at the end of the draw. All of this will combine to raise suspicions, even if it is unknown at this stage how much consideration or weighting FIFA may have given to Trump’s intervention.Some have raised concerns previously. An official complaint was submitted in December to FIFA’s Ethics Committee by FairSquare, a non-profit organisation and advocacy group which focuses mainly on global labour migration rights, political repression and sport. Fifty members of the European Parliament (MEPs) wrote to FIFA last week to demand that the organization address the complaint, which has also been supported by the Norwegian Football Federation.