{"id":918124,"date":"2026-07-07T07:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/918124\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T07:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:33:27","slug":"trump-takes-credit-for-red-card-review-but-says-fifa-made-final-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/918124\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump takes credit for red card review but says FIFA made final call"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card<\/a> issued against the United States\u2019 star forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup but said he did not demand an outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I did was ask for a review,\u201d Trump said when asked about it during an unrelated Oval Office event. \u201cI didn\u2019t say, \u2018You have to do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked for a second look at the punishment<\/a> against Balogun in the United States\u2019 2-0 win<\/a> against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in Santa Clara, California, near San Francisco. But he said FIFA made the final call to lift Balogun\u2019s mandatory one-game ban for a foul tackle, allowing him to play in Monday\u2019s round of 16 match with Belgium in Seattle.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s decision to suspend the one-game ban was celebrated by many in the United States but brought condemnation in the international sports world<\/a>, where some called it an outrageous intrusion. The Belgian soccer federation challenged Balogun\u2019s eligibility<\/a> for Monday\u2019s match, and the UEFA soccer body in Europe called FIFA\u2019s move \u201cincomprehensible and unjustifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Trump says World Cup referee\u2019s red card call was \u2018horrible\u2019 but insists he left outcome to FIFA\n <\/p>\n

AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports President Trump responds to questions about a U.S. red card reversal at the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Belgium ended up winning 4-1, eliminating the U.S. team from the tournament.<\/p>\n

Trump criticizes the referee\u2019s red card call<\/p>\n

In remarks Monday, Trump called the referee\u2019s decision a \u201chorrible\u201d call. He said it would have been a stain on the tournament if Balogun, the U.S.\u2019 leading scorer at this year\u2019s World Cup with three goals, was held out against Belgium and the U.S. lost. He praised FIFA for suspending the punishment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was a foul,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Republican president, who said he understands sports \u201creally well,\u201d acknowledged that he did not initially know what a red card is or the consequences it brings. When he learned it would lead to a one-game suspension for Balogun, he said, he decided to step in. He also took issue with the use of video review to issue the red card, arguing that slowed-down reviews can make plays look more aggressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelgium has got a great team,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe have to have our best players, and they have to have their best. And if we win or we lose, it\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA president defends the decision process<\/p>\n

Soon after Trump addressed the controversy, Infantino issued a statement detailing his call with Trump and defending the independence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA\u2019s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,\u201d Infantino said in a statement on X. \u201cThat is how FIFA\u2019s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who joined Trump at the White House event, credited the president for taking action. \u201cOn behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card,\u201d Cruz said during his remarks. \u201cIt was spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was the right decision to lift the punishment for Balogun.<\/p>\n

In rare comments during a photo op ahead of his meeting with Chile\u2019s foreign minister, Rubio questioned why Belgium would want to win a match \u201cif everyone will argue you didn\u2019t really win it because their best, or their leading, scorer was not on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He joked that it was becoming an \u201cinternational incident\u201d ahead of a NATO summit<\/a> in Turkey this week.<\/p>\n

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Trump also blamed the referee. Brazil\u2019s soccer federation defended him<\/p>\n

Trump took a swipe at the official who made the call, describing Brazilian referee Raphael Claus as \u201ca little bit suspect if you check his past.\u201d He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n

Claus has been considered one of Brazil\u2019s best referees in the last few years, often picked to officiate the nation\u2019s most important matches, including the final of the 2024 Copa America.<\/p>\n

During a match-fixing investigation by Brazil\u2019s Senate in 2024, lawmakers scrutinized referee assignment practices but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Brazilian soccer federation defended Claus as one of the world\u2019s leading active referees, praising his technical expertise and ethics. \u201cThere is nothing in his record that calls his integrity into question or supports any suspicion of wrongdoing,\u201d the federation said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Sao Paulo Football Federation in a statement expressed \u201cits unwavering support\u201d for Claus in the face of \u201cregrettable insinuations that attempt, without any basis, to cast doubt on his integrity and professional career.\u201d<\/p>\n

How did Balogun get the red card?<\/p>\n

The foul against Balogun<\/a> was called after he planted his cleated foot on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during their round of 32 match. The referee didn\u2019t initially signal a card, but a slow-motion review resulted in the red card.<\/p>\n

Balogun later said he thought a yellow card<\/a>, a formal warning, would have been fair.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s decision drew quick rebuke Sunday from Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, who said it sounded like an April Fools\u2019 Day joke. Meanwhile U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino applauded FIFA\u2019s move, saying his team was punished enough by losing Balogun for the remainder of last week\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

As the drama played out on the pitch last week, it was immediately clear from the perspective of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House FIFA Task Force leader Andrew Giuliani and Trump administration officials that the process used to issue the red card to Balogun was improper.<\/p>\n

Discussions over the red card and what to do about it dominated the flight from Santa Clara back to Washington. The consensus of the group, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the talks, was simply: that the slow-motion replay was improper, so shouldn\u2019t the red card be nullified?<\/p>\n

The next day, Trump officials continued to dig into the rules, consult lawyers and speak with U.S. Soccer about the matter, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.<\/p>\n

Trump was also briefed on updates as he prepared to speak with Infantino, whom the U.S. president has talked with multiple times a week since the World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, began June 11.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press photographer Manny Ceneta contributed from Washington. Associated Press writer El\u00e9onore Hughes contributed from Rio de Janeiro and writer Tales Azzoni contributed from Madrid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":918125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[106408,111,346438,4214,276,12785,84,69,2034,6061,8897,57,6072,51,17785,410,28316,50,80,358664,369867,2086,221,62,367001,4411,52,61,2057,2058,93],"class_list":["post-918124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-andrew-giuliani","tag-belgium","tag-bosnia-and-herzegovina-national-soccer-team","tag-brazil","tag-california","tag-dc-wire","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-folarin-balogun","tag-general-news","tag-gianni-infantino","tag-headlines","tag-howard-lutnick","tag-marco-rubio","tag-mauricio-pochettino","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-raphael-claus","tag-rudi-garcia","tag-seattle","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-tarik-muharemovic","tag-ted-cruz","tag-top-stories","tag-u-s-news","tag-wa-state-wire","tag-washington","tag-washington-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116877538237931865","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/918125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}