Donald Trump admits 'he got FIFA to overturn World Cup ban' as he calls referee 'suspect' in wild statement
Donald Trump has claimed credit for FIFA's highly controversial decision to suspend the red card against Folarin Balogun.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said that Balogun was Team USA's 'best player' and said he called FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ask him to suspend the red card.
"I'm the one that got them to do it," Trump declared, going on to say he 'didn't know what the hell a red card was'.
In case you missed their most recent game, USA striker Balogun was shown a red card in their round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning he'd be out of their upcoming knockout game against Belgium.
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However, FIFA then used a rule which allows them to suspend a punishment for a player meaning that Balogun's red card is suspended for a year and his one-match ban won't apply unless he does something else that gets in him trouble with a referee.
FIFA said in a statement: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.”
According to their rules a 'judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure', so they are allowed to do this, but it's had a lot of football fans in uproar that the World Cup hosts get arguably their best player back for a game they need to win to stay in the tournament.
Trump has claimed credit for the decision, declaring in the White House: "I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete and I understand sports really well, really well.
"That wasn't a foul... that was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. Like, you can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot... these were two great athletes that got tangled up.
"This referee 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 but very suspect."
Declaring himself 'the one that got them to do it', Trump said FIFA made a 'really brilliant decision' and further criticised the referee.
He said: "I think the referee's call was horrible and nobody talks about that," he tells reporters in the Oval Office. "They talk about the red card like it's fine, nobody talks [about] the referee's decision to red card.
"I didn't know what the hell a red card was, when I found out, I said 'you got to be kidding'."
The decision to suspend Balogun's red card has been highly controversial, the FIFA ruling doesn't overturn the referee's verdict and say that the striker shouldn't have been shown the red card, instead it is suspending punishment if Balogun avoids a similar incident for a year.
Former England striker Wayne Rooney called it an 'absolute disgrace', while UEFA have accused FIFA of crossing a 'red line' and other countries might wonder if they can get get their own player's red cards suspended.
Trump and Infantino have been very friendly for a while, with the FIFA boss awarding the US president the governing body's inaugural 'peace prize' after he failed to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
What a palaver.
World Cup 2026 fixture schedule and UK kick off times
Monday, 6 July
Round of 16 - Match 93: Portugal vs Spain, kick-off 8pm - Arlington, US
Tuesday, 7 July
Round of 16 - Match 94: USA vs Belgium, kick-off 1am - Seattle, US
Round of 16 - Match 95: Argentina vs Egypt, kick-off 5pm - Atlanta, US
Round of 16 - Match 96: Switzerland vs Colombia, kick-off 9pm - Vancouver, Canada
Thursday, 9 July
Quarter-final - Match 97: France vs Morocco, kick-off 9pm - Foxborough, US
Friday, 10 July
Quarter-final - Match 98: Match 93 winners vs Match 94 winners, kick-off 8pm - Los Angeles, US
Saturday, 11 July
Quarter-final - Match 99: Norway vs England, kick-off 10pm - Miami, US
Sunday, 12 July
Quarter-final - Match 100: Match 95 winners vs Match 96 winners, kick-off 2am - Kansas City, US
Tuesday, 14 July
Semi-final - Match 101: Match 97 winners vs Match 98 winners, kick-off 8pm - Arlington, US
Wednesday, 15 July
Semi-final - Match 102: Match 99 winners vs Match 100 winners, kick-off 8pm - Atlanta, US
Saturday, 18 July
Third Place Playoff - Match 103: Match 101 losers vs Match 102 losers, kick-off 10pm - Miami, US
Sunday, 19 July
Final - Match 104: Match 101 winners vs Match 102 winners, kick-off 8pm - New Jersey, US
Topics: Sport, Football, World Cup, Donald Trump
Joe Harker