Donald Trump has noticeably been absent from the FIFA World Cup. The US President has not attended a single match, not even the USA's opener last month, and had not mentioned the USMNT in any of his social media posts despite their impressive run to the Round of 16. Yet on Sunday, reports emerged suggesting Trump had quietly influenced one of the tournament's biggest controversies behind the scenes.FIFA cleared US star Folarin Balogun to play in the World Cup match against Belgium“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on Truth Social after football's governing body took the unprecedented step of overturning Folarin Balogun's automatic one-match suspension, making the striker available for Monday's Round of 16 clash against Belgium.Why was Balogun suspended?The incident occurred during the USA's Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. Balogun stretched to win the ball near the left touchline but caught the back of Tarik Muharemovic's leg with his studs, sliding down from the calf towards the ankle.ALSO READ: Cristiano Ronaldo confirms World Cup farewell, hits back at critics with stinging messageReferee Danny Makkelie was instructed to review the challenge on the pitchside monitor before upgrading the offence to serious foul play and showing Balogun a straight red card.The Monaco forward, who has emerged as one of the stars of the American campaign, had already scored three goals in the tournament—matching Landon Donovan's tally from the 2010 World Cup and trailing only Bert Patenaude's four goals from the inaugural edition in 1930. He even found the net against Bosnia before his dismissal.FIFA subsequently confirmed that the red card carried an automatic one-match suspension, ruling him out of the Belgium fixture.How did Trump reportedly get involved?According to The Guardian, Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino three times after the USA's 2-0 win over Bosnia, urging football's governing body to review the decision.There were also unverified reports that the White House World Cup Task Force, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, had explored legal avenues to challenge the suspension, potentially opening the door to broader questions over FIFA's disciplinary process.None of those claims have been independently verified, and neither FIFA nor the White House has publicly confirmed Trump's involvement beyond his social media statement.USA welcomed the decisionThe American squad discovered the news through social media while returning to the team hotel from training at the University of Washington's Husky Soccer Stadium."If you look at the foul, there was zero intent at all," Christian Pulisic said. "I felt like there were much worse tackles in this tournament."US Soccer received FIFA's official notification through the governing body's online portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT."The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year," FIFA announced. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”Belgium furious over FIFA U-turnBelgium reacted with outrage. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was "astonished" by FIFA's decision and accused the governing body of contradicting its own competition regulations while leaving open the possibility of legal action."We are astonished by this decision," the federation said."This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 competition regulations."The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every match coordination meeting before each match and in all FIFA World Cup workshop presentations."The RBFA added that it was "investigating all potential options" to safeguard "the legitimate rights of all participating teams and the fundamental principles of fair play."Belgium coach Rudi Garcia also mocked FIFA's decision."I didn't know that in FIFA's offices the 5th of July was the 1st of April in Europe," Garcia said through a translator, comparing the move to an April Fools' joke."The Belgian federation is not defending only the national team. It is defending football, its integrity and its ethics. I think it's the first time in World Cup history that we have seen this kind of decision."Garcia, however, declined to speculate on whether Trump's reported intervention had influenced FIFA or whether Belgium would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.Is the furore justified?From a footballing perspective, many observers argued Balogun's challenge did not warrant a red card in the first place.Lionel Messi made a similar tackle during Argentina's group-stage match against Algeria last month. That incident did not even result in a VAR review, let alone a dismissal. Algeria's football association later lodged a complaint, but the decision stood.However, once Balogun's red card was confirmed, the debate shifted from whether the challenge deserved dismissal to whether FIFA even had the authority to overturn an automatic suspension.FIFA's own disciplinary code appears restrictive.Article 66.4 states that a sending-off automatically results in suspension for the subsequent match, with FIFA's judicial bodies empowered only to increase sanctions where necessary.Moreover, every World Cup red card is automatically referred to FIFA's independent disciplinary committee. Earlier in the tournament, Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo saw his suspension extended to five matches after his challenge resulted in a broken leg for a Canadian player.FIFA's explanationFIFA based its decision on Article 27 of its disciplinary regulations."The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure. By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years," the rule states.The governing body clarified that Balogun's red card remains on record and that if he commits "another infringement of a similar nature and gravity" within the next year, the suspended one-match ban will automatically come into effect.Not without precedentAlthough Belgium described the move as unprecedented, FIFA has previously suspended the implementation of disciplinary sanctions.Last November, it deferred the final two matches of a three-game suspension handed to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo after a red card against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, allowing him to feature at the start of this tournament. Coincidentally, the announcement came the same week Ronaldo visited the White House and met Trump.Earlier, Argentina defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuador midfielder Moisés Caicedo also had one-match suspensions deferred after red cards in qualifiers, making them available for their respective World Cup openers.Long before FIFA formalised such mechanisms, Brazil's Garrincha was famously sent off in the 1962 World Cup semifinal against Chile but was ultimately cleared to play the final after political intervention.