President Donald Trump disclosed Monday that he reached out directly to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino, asking him to take another look at the red card handed to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun — and made clear he believed the referee who issued it made the wrong call.
Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, Trump was straightforward about his involvement. “All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” he said.
The move is without precedent and has drawn international attention to FIFA’s disciplinary process. Belgium, who face the United States on Monday in a match with a quarter-final berth on the line, responded with anger to Trump’s intervention.
In Trump’s view, the play that resulted in Balogun’s red card was nothing more than an accidental collision between two players running at full speed. He also raised doubts about the impartiality of the referee involved.
“I saw the play,” Trump said. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running whole speed that happened to crash into each other.”
FIFA ultimately chose to suspend the red card, a decision Trump applauded. “I think the referee’s call was horrible,” he said, describing FIFA’s response as a “really brilliant decision.”
Trump was careful to note the limits of his role in the matter. “I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do,” he said, adding that having the team’s top players available on the field was what mattered most.
