U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters Monday morning that he contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino regarding the red card handed out to American player Folarin Balogun in the U.S. match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last Wednesday.
Trump also said he had not pressured FIFA to overturn the call.
“I didn’t tell them what to do,” he said. “I can’t tell them what to do.”
He also added that “I didn’t know what the hell a red card is, when I found out I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding.'”
Infantino released a statement on the matter, saying that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent.”
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” the statement reads.
“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. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”
FIFA has since dismissed an appeal from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) regarding the reversal.
“The FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) as inadmissible,” FIFA said in a statement.
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“The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to the proceedings and, as such, has no standing to appeal the decision.”
Balogun was sent off directly for planting his cleated foot on the ankle of Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic during a 2-0 win for the U.S. in the round of 32.
That kind of challenge has been a routine red card all season in competitions worldwide, and some cases in the past have resulted in a two-game ban for serious foul play.
However, similar challenges by star players have gone unpunished at this World Cup — by Lionel Messi for Argentina against Algeria and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi against Brazil. Bernardo Silva of Portugal got just a yellow card for a similar conduct against Congo.
“I think a yellow card would have been fair,” Balogun later suggested.
Trump also suggested that the same decision making would be valid to the game’s superstars under similar circumstances.
Why is FIFA under fire for the reversal?
European soccer body UEFA criticizing FIFA for an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision” to let Balogun play against Belgium on Monday.
UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, insisted: “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.”
“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” said the European soccer body, which has often clashed with Infantino during his decade in power.
“It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.”
The RBFA said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision in a statement released Monday.
“The RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter,” the statement reads. “It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”
“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defense of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.”
Former FIFA president Joseph Blatter also posted to X, saying that “red cards are not overturned by political phone calls.”
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken also said Sunday after his team beat Brazil to reach the quarterfinals that “it’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.”
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. EST at Lumen Field in Seattle.
- With files from the Associated Press
IT WAS A FOUL U CORRUPT A S S HOLE ! HOW MUCH TAX PAYERS MONEY DID U GIVE SEPP UNDER THE TABLE ?
LOL! Trump makes an international incident out of a soccer foul, then FIFA bows to Donnie’s demands, then the US loses to Belgium anyway… and badly 4-1. It’s sports Don. Real referees often make calls that us armchair refs don’t like, especially when they go against our favourite teams, but life goes on. Does the President of the USA have nothing better to do? How bout you stop worrying about soccer, and try to end this disastrous Iran war that YOU started, or try to solve the Ukraine war that you said you’d end on “day one?”
USA didn’t need him anyway. USA lost.
well that didn’t work USA lost 4 – 1
Looooooooser
stupid orange turd
Trump will call to have the Belgium game result reversed due to rigged referees
Of course Trump is a qualified FIFA rules expert. Not! Says all he did is ask for a review. Not! Just another lie. His Pinocchio nose must reach around the world by now.
trump loses to everyone despite “having all the cards” as he keeps saying.
Greenland 1 trump 0
Iran Camel drivers 3 trump 0
tiny Belgium 4 trump 1
what a winner!
Trump Quote: “And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul.”
Also a Trump Quote: “I didn’t know what the hell a red card is, when I found out I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding.'”
So he’s good at “stuff”, even though he doesn’t know what that “stuff” is.
Got it. LOL!
Trump rigs soccer like the Republicans rig elections. By gerrymandering and spending billions. The fix is in!
Then again, American football and hockey are fake sports played by only a tiny minority of countries in the world. I’m just a stupid f *ucking neanerthal, I know.
Oh the dainty soccer players bumped into each other and got a booboo. They should play North American football or hockey where the players need to wear armor… bunch of wooses.
Orange head doesn’t have a clue about soccer
Trump is lying. it was a good call from the referree RED CARD was the call period. Fifa lost all credebitily by bending to the orange bafoon and will feel the consequences. This world cup was a shaw from day 1 the cup should have been removed when the moron trump started his crying, Infantino is an idiot with no backbone like trump
So by trump’s bullzhit, Belgian players can put their spikes to USA players.
No red cards.
Somebody give DJT a red card and a 50-year suspension
Belgium is going to detroy them today, regardless.
Sorry but world class football players don’t just stomp down on an opposing player’s ankle that way by accident. Definitely deserves a red card…
@JLS it is irrelevant what you think about the decision made by the referee AFTER VAR reviewed it for a couple of minutes and from every angle and speed. The bottom line is the referee made a decision and that decision was backed up by VAR. once dangerous olay, whether intentional or not, is determined the referee has no option but to give a red card and send the player off. Neither Trump nor the president of FIFA should have ANY say in the repercussions of the red card. This suspension, which is for a year, means the reputation of FIFA is destroyed and there is no credibility in the organization.
Never mind if it was a bad call by the referee or not. But FIFA allowing someone to reverse the call by anyone who wasn’t even on the field at the time it happened mars the credibility of the entire organization.
Too bad the people who never left Grade 8 behind are trying to be shocking. Exactly why most comment pages end up controlled and censored. Whatever….
Trump has to ruin everything he touches. Sports is definitely not his thing since he has all those bone spurs!
a sad day for professional sports
Let’s talk about whether this was actually a red card first and foremost! I think it would be hard to even justify a yellow card in this instance. It was clearly not intentional, Balogan wasn’t even looking at his opponent’s leg, his leg just happened to come down on his ankle. I’m not even sure how he would have prevented something that he could not even see?? The real issue here is the terrible call that the ref made, EVEN after reviewing it. Let’s talk about that! I agree that reversing penalties is not ideal, however, how else do prevent poor decisions like this on a refs part? This might make them think twice about calls like this in the future so that nothing even needs to be reversed again! This was NOT a red card and everyone knows it, THAT is where the focus should be!
With the US being confirmed cheats now, none of their wins should be considered legitimate. They very likely cheated. They probably paid off those teams using the president’s money.
If someone is found to be dirty in the legal system, all their cases get thrown out.
Prove you cheat at football, and all your wins come into question.
As far as any of us should be concerned, this team hasn’t legitimately won a single game this world cup.
Count me in on that 3 some!
Hey my little sister hit be with a bag of pool balls and now I’m as bright as that exact bag of balls. Ben do you want to go out with me tonight?
I say stupid cr@p everyday here. My little sister hit me with a bag of hammers when I was young and now I’m as dumb as that exact bag of hammers. Wait what did I say? I forget already.
Like he knows, Pres Cheater
This World Cup.has been an absolute joke
The is just the latest in a long line of garbage
FIFA, showing it’s true colours
( American dollar green) with the World Corrupt games. How many dollars did it take?
A Liar & Felon gets involved with a Crooked FIFA BOSS doesn’t look good! Ban FIFA & TRUMP!
And the NPCs will not care and continue to cheer for man chasing ball because it’s a good distraction from the rest of their empty lives. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL
You see what I said all along FIFA and the rich countries not say the mafia are envoloved as well the whole body is corrupte
I had to intervene here, the US team kept calling to fill in for Balogun on Monday and I have stuff to do.
Many people don’t know I am a world class soccer player, some say I could have been bigger than Ronaldo.
They still call me Donaldo.
I don’t even like soccer and think it is a pussy sport, but I am one of the best.
The US team will be fine with Balogun playing and it wouldn’t be fair if I played because the Secret Service would be on the field with me.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
-DJT
It’s a disgraceful decision and a stain on the name of FIFA. FIFA president should resign.
Ben you’re starting to get embarrassing with so many moronic comments
FIFA Pres and Trump, two of the most corrupt beings on the planet. Americans, biggest sore losers around.
Trump is a sore loser which has been proven many many times
“Sports builds character…” LOL
I guess if you are the USA, you rig soccer like the republicans rig elections with gerrymandering and money. That’s not winning, that’s not sportmanship, and that’s not fair minded.
Kick FIFA out of Canada & keep the other Felon out Too! Corrupt bunch of idiots!
FIFA is the most corrupt organization in the world. Take a minute to look who’s running it to figure that one out.
I usually stay away from all things Trump but this decision to suspend the red card for the American player, if indeed it was influenced by a call from Trump, puts the credibility of FIFA in disrepute and goes to show that FIFA will fold under pressure from a country’s leader. So what happens when the games are held in countries that have real despotic dictators, such as China or many African countries. A red line has clearly been crossed and it should mean the end of FIFA as a credible organization.
I don’t blame Trump in this decision I blame FIFA. This is more proof how FIFA can be bought and influenced by anyone for the right price whether it be money or something else. If this happens then all red cards should be suspended especially the one that England got yesterday because the rules had changed before that card was issued. Said before and say it again FIFA is useless and all about the money.
So what about the English player who got a red card yesterday for a slide tackle? This sets a terrible precident but then we’ve all known that FIFA is as corrupt as you can get.
“20 bucks is 20 bucks.” – FIFA
So now Trump changes FIFA rules !! OMG. And FIFA bends!
Ok Trump is openly bragging he intervened yet some of his cult still try to pretend this is just left wing propaganda – sad little people. He defaults to cheating on everything – in his DNA to the core.
So the game really is rigged then. Sad.
Its like listening in on a psyche ward filled with children.
This is not news. It is whiny bitches.
Sandy, he literally said he intervened. What a joke!
How big was the bribe…..
Guess we know the outcome of the World Cup!!!!!!!
Trump always cheats. Always.
Ha, now we know . . . the fix is in. This level of corruption in FIFA is surely unprecedented. A notoriously corrupt politician gets FIFA to bend over and submit. I’m done watching any more FIFA events.
FIFA is intent on proving that this World Cup is just a sham and not a serious tournament
@Sandy… Nice try
Fact Checked
The Core Event
Verdict: VERIFIED
Trump’s Intervention & Truth Social Post
Verdict: VERIFIED
Stomping a guy with cleats isn’t a red card now?
Corruption in FIFA.
Donald Trump made the call Sandy.
Why are you a liar?
Only problem is Trump didn’t get involved. It is just the wild imaginations of the left wing media that has visions of Trump’s involvement