United States President Donald Trump yesterday took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card issued against the United States’ star forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup but said he did not demand an outcome.“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said when asked about it during an unrelated Oval Office event. “I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this’.”Trump confirmed that he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asked for a second look at the punishment against Balogun in the United States’ 2-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in Santa Clara, California, near San Francisco.But he said FIFA made the final call to lift Balogun’s mandatory one-game ban for a foul tackle, allowing him to play in yesterday’s Round of 16 match with Belgium in Seattle.
ON THE FIELD: United States’ Folarin Balogun, centre, tries to score on Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (1) during the round of 16 match in Seattle, yesterday. —Photos: AP
Ted S. Warren
FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-game ban was celebrated by many in the United States but brought condemnation in the international sports world, where some called it an outrageous intrusion.The Belgian soccer federation challenged Balogun’s eligibility for yesterday’s match, and the UEFA soccer body in Europe called FIFA’s move “incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.In remarks yesterday, Trump called the referee’s decision a “horrible” call.He said it would have been a stain on the tournament if Balogun, the US’ leading scorer at this year’s World Cup with three goals, was held out against Belgium and the US lost.He praised FIFA for suspending the punishment.“I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said. “I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”The Republican president, who said he understands sports “really well”, acknowledged that he did not initially know what a red card was or the consequences it brought.When he learned it would lead to a one-game suspension for Balogun, he said he decided to step in.He also took issue with the use of video review to issue the red card, arguing that slowed-down reviews can make plays look more aggressive.“Belgium has got a great team,” Trump said. “We have to have our best players, and they have to have their best. And if we win or we lose, it’s fair.”Soon after Trump addressed the controversy, Infantino issued a statement detailing his call with Trump and defending the independence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.“During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,” Infantino said in a statement on X. “That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was the right decision to lift the punishment for Balogun.In rare comments during a photo op ahead of his meeting with Chile’s foreign minister, Rubio questioned why Belgium would want to win a match “if everyone will argue you didn’t really win it because their best, or their leading, scorer was not on the pitch.”He joked that it was becoming an “international incident” ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey this week.Trump blames referee Trump took a swipe at the official who made the call, describing Brazilian referee Raphael Claus as “a little bit suspect if you check his past”.He did not elaborate.Claus has been considered one of Brazil’s best referees in the last few years, often picked to officiate the nation’s most important matches, including the final of the 2024 Copa America.During a match-fixing investigation by Brazil’s Senate in 2024, lawmakers scrutinised referee assignment practices but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing.The Brazilian soccer federation defended Claus as one of the world’s leading active referees, praising his technical expertise and ethics. “There is nothing in his record that calls his integrity into question or supports any suspicion of wrongdoing,” the federation said in a statement.The Sao Paulo Football Federation in a statement expressed “its unwavering support” for Claus in the face of “regrettable insinuations that attempt, without any basis, to cast doubt on his integrity and professional career.”
