United States President Donald Trump has acknowledged asking FIFA to review the red card shown to Folarin Balogun during the USA’s World Cup match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The intervention led to the suspension of Balogun’s one-match ban, allowing the striker to return for the United States’ Round of 16 encounter with Belgium on Tuesday.
The decision has generated reactions across the globe, as Belgian Football Federation, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, and UEFA criticised FIFA, arguing that the move gives the United States special treatment and threatens the credibility of the World Cup.
Addressing reporters at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he believed the referee made the wrong decision by sending off Balogun.
Trump described the challenge as an accidental collision between two players running at full speed, saying it did not warrant a red card.
He stated that opposing supporters admitted the United States was unfortunate to lose one of its most influential players, adding that he became concerned after learning the dismissal would automatically rule Balogun out of the team’s next match.
Trump argued that suspending a player beyond the game in which the incident occurred was an unfair punishment.
Trump said: “I saw the play. And I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. 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.
“And this referee, who is a little bit suspect… I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect. He made a call that nobody could believe. You know, even people on the other side, they said, ‘oh, we got lucky’. Wow. That’s very interesting.
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“He [Balogun] is our best player, or one of our best players, a very vital player. And he gave him a red card. I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that means he can’t play in the next game. I said, boy, that’s a big, you know, if it happened to another player, it would have been unfair. But when they take your best player, or just about, and they say you can’t play, that’s very unfair. That’s you know, it’s one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair. You can’t do that.”
The president confirmed he contacted FIFA to request a review of the decision, saying the organisation responded positively by overturning the suspension and making Balogun available for the knockout fixture.
“So yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who’s highly respected and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold. And he was good before this started. But, you know, he really pushed it in this country,” Trump added.
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