{"id":1072685,"date":"2026-07-06T20:38:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T20:38:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1072685\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T20:38:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T20:38:27","slug":"leeds-uniteds-lukas-nmecha-aims-dig-at-donald-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1072685\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds United’s Lukas Nmecha aims dig at Donald Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

The USA hosting the World Cup was already a hugely controversial topic, and Donald Trump has poured petrol on the fire.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The World Cup<\/a> is hitting the business end this week as the round of 16 takes place, with Leeds having two representatives still present.<\/p>\n

Out of the pair, Brenden Aaronson<\/a> inadvertently finds himself in the midst of a USA media circus. President Donald Trump\u2019s questionable fingerprints are all over recent developments.<\/p>\n

Folarin Balogun\u2019s USA red card suspension dismissed after shocking Donald Trump admission<\/p>\n

Aaronson has had little to say in USA\u2019s hopeful run deep into the World Cup. He\u2019s watched on as fellow attacker Folarin Balogun was dismissed in a 2-0 round of 32 victory over Bosnia, sent off for a reckless rake of the studs down the back of Tarik Muharemovic\u2019s calf.<\/p>\n

Balogun\u2019s foul was clearly accidental, but was a dangerous act that referee Raphael Claus deemed worthy of a serious foul play after VAR intervention.<\/p>\n

\"SmartFrame<\/p>\n

With Belgium up next in the round of 16, Balogun was initially suspended. But, an extraordinary turn of events has seen FIFA give Balogun a one-year suspended ban, clearing him to play on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

As the Guardian<\/a> explain, FIFA\u2019s disciplinary code does not permit appeals for straight red cards. However, article 27 allows FIFA to rescind the decision with a probation period, meaning a similar incident in the next 12 months will lead to a suspension.<\/p>\n

What clearly helped influence the decision was direct contact from Trump. He confirmed his phone call with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to address the matter.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHe (Balogun) didn\u2019t do anything wrong and he is our best player,\u201d Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, via Reuters<\/a>. \u201cWhen they \u2060take your best player and say \u2018You can\u2019t play\u2019 it\u2019s very unfair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they made a really brilliant decision. I asked for a review. If they would not allow a top player to play I think it (the World \u200bCup) would have had a big stain. I related that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s never a good thing when someone with such power is seemingly confirming that he used his influence to change a decision.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s comments have of course dominated discourse, and not for good reasons. His Oval Office explanation of his view on matters raised further questions.<\/p>\n

Leeds United<\/a> striker Lukas Nmecha shared a clip of Trump on his Instagram story<\/a>, joking at the president\u2019s comments that he knows sport \u2018really well\u2019:<\/p>\n

\"\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

Those two words say quite a lot. Fair play, Lukas.<\/p>\n

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