U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card given to United States men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun in the team’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 at the World Cup, calling it a “horrible” call.
FIFA on Sunday suspended Balogun’s red card, making him available to face Belgium in the round of 16 match later on Monday.
In a statement on its website, FIFA said: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one [1] year.”
“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said at a White House media briefing on Monday.
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“I didn’t think it was a foul,” he said. “I thought it was two great athletes that crashed each other and got entangled.”
The president said he didn’t initially know what a red card was or what its consequences were. When he found out that it could keep Balogun out of Monday’s match against Belgium, Trump said he felt compelled to intervene.
“That’s very unfair,” he said. “How do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played?”
He said the red card, issued after a VAR review, was a “horrible” call, arguing that the slowed-down replay made it look worse than it was.
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“I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports … that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction … this referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. He made a call that nobody could believe … he’s our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn’t know what that meant … yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. [Balogun] didn’t do anything wrong, and he’s our best player or one of our best players.”
A U.S. official told ABC News on Monday that Trump and Infantino spoke, and the president wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension.
The official said Trump was told that the appeal process is run by an independent board.
The official said: “The U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process. Ultimately the correct and proper outcome was achieved.”
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FIFA’s statutes prohibit political interference in matters relating to its national associations, but it has not yet commented on how it came to the decision to suspend Balogun’s ban.
Belgium appealed against the decision to overturn the ban, while UEFA said the decision “crossed a line.”
The U.S. plays Belgium on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET in Seattle, seeking to advance to its first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 2002. The Americans lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and Netherlands in 2022. They failed to advance from the group stage in 2006 and didn’t qualify for the 2018 tournament.
A statement by U.S. Soccer said: “We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow.
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“Our full attention is focused on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.”
Balogun scored the U.S.’s opening goal in the 45th minute of its 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday. But he was then sent off in the 64th minute for what was deemed a bad challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
