WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump reached out directly to FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this week, urging the international soccer governing body to take another look at a red card that had been issued to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, according to a source who was briefed on the conversation.
The call appeared to have an impact. FIFA announced Sunday that Balogun would be cleared to take the field for the United States in Monday’s knockout round matchup against Belgium — an unusual reversal of the one-game ban he had been facing following the red card he received during a game against Bosnia.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to applaud the decision, saying it had corrected what he described as a “great injustice.”
