United States President Donald Trump has confirmed he personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to 'review' USA striker Folarin Balogun's red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup, which was controversially overturned.
Balogun's red card overturned after Trump intervention
Balogun was sent off after VAR reviewed a challenge he made in the last-32 match against Bosnia, and his red card was due to lead to an automatic ban for United States' last-16 tie against Belgium on Monday. But in an unprecedented move, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced on Sunday it would suspend Balogun's one-match ban by a probationary period of one year, allowing him to play against Belgium.
Speaking for the first time about the incident, Trump branded Brazilian referee Raphael Claus 'very suspect', and revealed that he personally asked Infantino to overturn the decision.
Trump: 'That wasn't even an infraction'
'I spoke to Gianni, who's highly respected,' Trump said at the Oval Office on Monday. 'I saw the play and I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and 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.
'These were two great athletes that got tangled up and this referee, who 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 very suspect.
'He made a call that nobody could believe. He [Balogun] didn't do anything wrong and he's our best player, or one of our best players… and he [the referee] gave him a red card.
'It's very unfair, you can't do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who's highly respected [Infantino] and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold.'
FIFA's unprecedented decision
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee's decision to suspend Balogun's ban on a probationary basis is highly unusual, allowing the striker to feature in the crucial knockout match against Belgium. The move has sparked debate about political influence in football governance.
More to follow…
