United States President Donald Trump has confirmed he personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “review” USA striker Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was controversially suspended on Sunday.
Trump's Intervention
Balogun was sent off after VAR reviewed a challenge he made in the round of 32 match against Bosnia, with the dismissal thought to have meant an automatic ban for the last-16 tie against Belgium. President Trump has now confirmed he personally lobbied Infantino at an event on Monday, telling the FIFA president that Balogun’s challenge “was not a foul” and adding that the referee “is a little bit suspect”.
Trump said at the Oval Office on Monday: “I spoke to Gianni, who’s highly respected. “I saw the play and I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, 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. “These were two great athletes that got tangled up and this referee, who is a little bit suspect, if you check his past. I don’t want to say that, because I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect. “He made a call that nobody could believe. He (Balogun) didn’t do anything wrong and he’s our best player, or one of our best players… and he (the referee) gave him a red card. “It’s very unfair, you can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who’s highly respected (Infantino) and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold.”
Reactions and Appeals
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 have appealed against the decision to overturn the ban, while UEFA said it “crossed a line”.
