Newsman: President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed that he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the red card suspension of U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun.
Speaking at an Oval Office event, Trump said he watched the July 1 match and thought the one-game red card suspension, which Balogun received for landing on an opposing player’s ankle, was “very unfair” and that the clash between Balogun and the opposing team’s player “wasn’t a foul.”
“So yes, I asked for a review by FIFA,” Trump said.
The president defended the call and was dismissive when asked by a reporter if the episode could lead other world leaders to do the same in the future.
“I think it’s terrible if they wouldn’t allow, you know, a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best players on the team, to play,” Trump said. “I think it would have had a big stain. And I related just that feeling.”
“I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do,” Trump said. “And I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.
President Donald Trump ask FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the controversial red card issued to U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team forward Folarin Balogun in the World Cup, calling the penalty “very unfair” and “horrible.”
“All I did, I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters on July 6 in the Oval Office, confirming that he “spoke to Gianni” about the matter last week.
“I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports and who was a good athlete. I understand sports really well. And that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” the president said.
After the president’s intervention, FIFA on July 5 reversed Balogun’s red card and one-game suspension, a stunning move that cleared the way for the top United States goal scorer and striker to play in the July 6 U.S. match against Belgium in the round of 16.
Trump’s outreach to Infantino, who has built a close relationship with the American president, has drawn outrage from the Belgians, whose soccer federation was granted the right from FIFA to appeal the Balogun reversal hours before the match begins.
‘I didn’t tell him what do do,’ Trump says
Trump applauded FIFA for making a “really brilliant decision” to overturn a “horrible” call but denied that he told Infantino how to handle the situation. “I relayed just what I felt. I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do,” Trump said.
“I had nothing to do with the decision,” he later added.
Trump and Infantino have cultivated close ties over the past year, with the president hosting the FIFA president multiple times at the White House and Infantino awarding Trump with FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize.
Infantino confirmed receiving the phone call from Trump, saying in a statement after Trump’s remarks that he regularly discusses Word Cup matters with the president and also takes calls from other heads of states and government officials.
“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. “That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”
Balogun received the red card in the U.S. World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina after his foot landed on an opponent’s ankle as both players went after the ball. The penalty was widely criticized as a misapplication of a red card and too punitive for the actions on the field.
“It’s one thing to suspend somebody for the game, but how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played yet?” Trump said. “It’s very unfair. You can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”
FIFA cited the federation’s disciplinary rules in its initial statement on the highly unusual reversal and did not address Trump’s communication with Infantino. FIFA’s regulations state, “The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.” The player is then subject to a probationary period in which that suspension is revoked.
Infantino said the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which made the call to Balogun’s red card, operates autonomously and with independence “essential to the credibility and integrity of football.”
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree,” Infantino said. “What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them.”
In a statement on Monday, Infantino said he “regularly” talks with Trump about matters related to FIFA World Cup — and said he spoke to the president about Balogun’s red card.
“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,” Infantino wrote. “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.”
