Donald Trump said on Monday that he personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card shown to USA striker Folarin Balogun, saying he believed the dismissal was unfair but insisting he did not pressure football’s governing body to overturn the suspension.
“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do.”
Trump’s remarks were his first public acknowledgment that he had personally intervened after Balogun was sent off in the USA’s 2-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday in the last 32. FIFA had suspended the striker’s automatic one-match ban on Sunday despite officials previously saying the sanction could not be appealed under the governing body’s disciplinary code.
The intervention by the president of a World Cup host nation has thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the spotlight and prompted an angry response from Belgium, who face the USA on Monday night for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sources told the Guardian that Trump made three calls to FIFA beginning on Wednesday in an effort to secure the reversal. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, while FIFA declined to comment.
Trump’s remarks marked the first time either the White House or the president had publicly confirmed the outreach to FIFA.
On Monday, Trump repeatedly said Balogun’s challenge should never have resulted in a dismissal. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “So I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well. Really well.
“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. You can’t take your foot and properly place it on somebody else’s foot when you’re going full speed. These were two great athletes that got tangled up.
“If he punched him in the face, if he did something wrong, I’d feel differently.”
He described the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus as “very suspect” and said the official had made “a call that nobody could believe”. He also suggested reporters examine Claus’s record, without elaborating.
Trump said he only learned after the match that a straight red card carried an automatic suspension. “It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game,” he said. “But how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair.”
He said he believed Balogun’s absence would have diminished the tournament and praised FIFA’s eventual decision to restore the striker’s eligibility. “We’ve got to have our best players and they have to have their best,” Trump said. “If we win or we lose, it’s fair.”
Trump also sought to distance Infantino from the decision. “I don’t believe he made the decision,” Trump said. “I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because, number one, it wasn’t a foul.”
In a statement issued after Trump’s remarks, Infantino confirmed that he had received a call from the US president but said he told Trump the matter was before FIFA’s independent disciplinary bodies.
“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent,” Infantino said. “They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.”
He added that while he sometimes agreed and sometimes disagreed with disciplinary decisions, he “always” respected the autonomy of the bodies that made them.
Earlier Monday, Republican senator Ted Cruz publicly thanked Trump for Balogun’s reinstatement during the Oval Office event organized to launch the administration’s new “Trump accounts” savings program for children.
“On behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card,” the Texas Republican said.
“That was interesting,” Trump replied.
“It was spectacular,” Cruz continued. “There was a reason the FIFA trophy sat here for as long as it did.”
Trump said he had spoken with Infantino after watching England’s victory against Mexico on Sunday night, which he described as evidence of the tournament’s popularity in the US. “Each one is turning out to be a Super Bowl,” Trump said of the World Cup matches.
Trump also singled out the England captain, Harry Kane, for praise. “I don’t know the players, although I think Kane is a great player,” Trump said. “I played golf with him and I like him a lot. He’s a good golfer. But he’s really great.”
Neither Trump nor FIFA explained the legal basis on which Balogun’s suspension was lifted. After the US defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina, officials from both FIFA and US Soccer had said the dismissal could not be appealed under the governing body’s disciplinary rules.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticized the decision on social media, writing that “red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies.” He added: “Football must never become a playground for political power.”
Balogun’s availability is a major boost for the USA side. The 25-year-old is the team’s leading scorer at the tournament and opened the scoring against Bosnia and Herzegovina before being sent off after 64 minutes.
