President Donald Trump has called the FIFA World Cup referee who sent off U.S. striker Folarin Balogun in last week’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina “very suspect” as the uproar over the player’s suspended red card continues.
Speaking at the White House Monday ahead of the U.S.’s last-16 clash with Belgium, in which Balogun will now be allowed to play after his one-match ban was effectively lifted, the president said: “I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports… That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction.
“This referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. He made a call that nobody could believe. He’s our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn’t know what that meant… Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”
Later in his remarks, the president admitted: “I didn’t know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, ‘You gotta be kidding!’”
He went on to deny that he had set a worrying precedent for the tournament before veering off into discussing basketball star Caitlin Clark, commenting: “I thought our young, wonderful basketball player – Caitlin – I thought she was treated rather rough, if you want to know the truth.
“That was a much different kind of an event. That was a pretty bad event.”
Looking ahead to the U.S.’s knock-out game with Belgium later, Trump said: “If they beat us, they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, we’ll say – I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020, but I won’t get into that.”
The president’s attack on Brazilian official Raphael Claus, who oversaw last week’s 2-0 win for the U.S. over Bosnia in San Francisco and sent off Balogun for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute, came after FIFA moved Sunday to hand the striker an almost-unprecedented reprieve.
It has since emerged that Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino – who last year awarded him the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize,” inviting widespread derision – lobbying him to intervene on Balogun’s behalf.
FIFA obliged, explaining its decision in a statement that read: “In line with Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to thank the federation for “reversing a great injustice” – his first meaningful involvement in the tournament so far, having attended none of the games played so far despite the U.S. being one of the co-hosts, alongside Canada and Mexico.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously said the U.S. “got screwed” by Balogun’s sending off, signaling official displeasure. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, also privately reached out to FIFA over the matter, according to reports.
While the development has been welcomed by U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino and playmaker Christian Pulisic, many observers have been more inclined to agree with Belgium’s manager, Rudi Garcia, who said: “I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It’s April Fools.
“We’re not defending the national team or the federation, we are defending football, integrity. It’s the first time in World Cup history that such a decision has been taken.”
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by the rule-bending, given that there is no appeal process in place to challenge bookings at the tournament.
European pundits reacted with even greater derision.
Gary Neville said on ITV Sunday that Balogun’s exemption from the rules “absolutely stinks,” while, on the BBC, Wayne Rooney said: “If I’m the USA’s opponent, I’d be absolutely fuming. I think it’s wrong in every way. I think it’s an absolute disgrace.”
Others have warned that the affair could tarnish the on-field achievements of Pochettino’s side, who began their campaign with a thrilling 4-1 win over Paraguay in which Balogun scored twice and went on to win Group D.
