Baba UmarWashington DC — US President Donald Trump has weighed in on a controversial red card decision against star US forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, stating that he contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review, while describing the referee's original decision as "very suspect" and "horrible."
His comments on Monday came amid controversy over Balogun's straight red card in the US team's 2-0 round-of-32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.
The 24-year-old forward was sent off in the 64th minute following a VAR review for a challenge on defender Tarik Muharemovic. However, the suspension was lifted in a FIFA decision that now allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday.
Speaking with reporters on Monday at the White House, Trump described the incident as two players running at full speed who collided and became entangled.
"That wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction," he said. "You can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot when you're going full speed. No, these were two great athletes that got tangled up."
Trump called the referee's decision "very suspect" and said he would be willing to provide the official’s past record if asked. The US president argued the red card was especially unfair because it sidelined one of the team’s best and most vital players for the next match.
"How do you penalise them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair," he said. Trump added that he had asked FIFA boss Infantino to review the call.
Trump praises FIFA
Following his call with Infantino, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee said the implementation of Balogun’s automatic suspension had been suspended for a probationary period of one year under Article 27 of the body's disciplinary code.
Trump said he could not dictate terms to Infantino but believed the reversal was made by an independent disciplinary committee — and that the panel got it right.
"I can't tell him what to do, but I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because number one, it wasn't a foul, and you wanna see a game with your best players," Trump said.
He argued that ejecting star players for minor contact would ruin the spectacle of major tournaments.
"You don't wanna say, how would you feel if we take Messi out… or we take Ronaldo… or Harry Kane… because you happened to hit somebody a little bit harder than [normal]. You can’t do that," Trump stated. "If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really stained this incredible champion."
Trump sharply criticised the on-field referee, saying the red card call was "horrible" and that few were discussing it.
He recalled being shocked by the power referees wield.
"I didn't know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, 'You gotta be kidding.' This guy just hands up — OK, your best player is not gonna play next week… I said wow, that's a lot of power, that's terrible. But then I looked at his past and it wasn't so great."
Trump described FIFA boss Infantino as "a smart, tough man" whose standing he said has risen because of his work on the tournament, and repeated that the sport needs its best players competing.
Trump takes credit
Shifting to the bigger picture, Trump took credit for bringing the 2026 FIFA World Cup to North America.
He said he personally secured the tournament for the United States, with portions also awarded to Canada and Mexico. "I got him to do it," Trump said, referring to the World Cup. "It was not Biden. Biden was asleep. I got him to do it."
He also claimed credit for helping bring the Olympics to the United States and expressed pride in both achievements, even though he noted he may not be in office when the events take place.
"I’m so proud of it," Trump said. "The beautiful thing about what I did is I ran. I never thought of it and then all of a sudden I realised, you know, I just got the Olympics, and I totally got that myself, and I just got FIFA. I got that myself."
Trump said he initially wondered whether fans would show up for the World Cup in the US but has been surprised by the overwhelming response. "I said, Gianni, is anyone gonna show up?" he recalled. "If you would have said to any very smart of these people that the numbers they’re doing now would be happening, they’ve never seen anything like it."
The US president also pointed to football’s surging popularity in the US, where it has traditionally not been a mainstream sport.
Trump claimed recent viewership figures are "4 times more successful" than expected.
He said producers told him last night that the US-Belgium game is projected to draw a minimum of 50 to 60 million viewers — numbers he described as approaching Super Bowl territory.
"We have a game tonight and they think they're projecting a minimum of 50 million people watching a game we call it soccer," Trump said. "It's called football, I guess, but we can’t really call it football because it gets a little confusion. So yeah, you call it soccer. We’re the only ones that do that."
Meanwhile, FIFA rejected Belgium's letter seeking a copy of the decision to make Balogun eligible for their World Cup clash after treating it as an inadmissible appeal, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said.
The RBFA said it is challenging Balogun's eligibility after FIFA removed the automatic player suspension section from a pre-match presentation without explanation despite repeated requests.
