Donald Trump confirms he asked Fifa boss to review Folarin Balogun red card
by AFP · The42LAST UPDATE | 21 hrs ago
IN AN ASTONISHING media appearance, United States president Donald Trump has admitted he asked Fifa for a review of America striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game ban.
Brazilian Raphael Claus sent off Balogun after the US star stepped on an opponent’s ankle during the USA’s round of 32 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Fifa’s ruling, following Trump’s intervention, permits Balogun to play in the co-hosts’ World Cup last 16 match with Belgium later on Monday.
“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “All I did was ask for a review, I didn’t say you have to do this.”
Fifa chief Gianni Infantino has defended the decision to reprieve US World Cup star after Trump said he had appealed directly to the head of world football’s governing body over the issue.
Under pressure to explain Fifa’s decision to allow Balogun to play, Infantino insisted on Monday that his organization’s disciplinary process was independent, and he could not influence it.
Infantino said he had explained to Trump that “there was an ongoing legal process involving Fifa’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies”.
The football chief said he always read the decisions handed down and “sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.”
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He added: “What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them.”
Fifa’s decision to suspend Balogun’s one-game ban for a year “crossed a red line”, European football’s governing body Uefa said on Monday.
“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line,” read Uefa’s strongly worded statement.
“Football, like any other sport, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case, not.”
Uefa warned of the ramifications for the sport as a whole.
“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws,” it said.
“A tournament is never a pure standalone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.
“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
Balogun, who has scored three goals at the World Cup, had been set to miss the clash in Seattle after receiving a straight red card following a video review. Under Fifa rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban.
Trump called Fifa chief Gianni Infantino asking him to review Balogun’s punishment, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also publicly called for the card to be rescinded.
The decision to suspend the ban was taken by Fifa’s disciplinary committee.
World football’s governing body said on Sunday the ban will now be suspended for a year, in a stunning move for which no specific explanation was offered.
“Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The Belgians were stupefied by the ruling.
“I didn’t know that at the FIFA World Cup, the 5th of July is now the 1st of April, and that it’s April Fool’s Day,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia told reporters.
Meanwhile, Jürgen Klopp on Monday slammed Fifa’s decision to overturn US striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension.
The former Liverpool coach, who is set to become the next Germany manager after Julian Nagelsmann’s resignation on Friday, hit out at the decision.
“It’s a red card, even if it’s a shame because Balogun can’t play, but it’s there in the rules,” Klopp said.
“This is our game, not theirs… If Trump and Infantino really worked this all out between themselves, that’s crazy. It calls everything into question…
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“These two individuals, neither of whom has a clue about football, shouldn’t have anything to do with it,” the 59-year-old added.
German FA (DFB) president Bernd Neuendorf demanded an explanation from Fifa, saying the decision jeopardised the tournament’s credibility.
“Fifa should now quickly address reports suggesting that the decision to suspend the red card issued to American player Folarin Balogun was preceded by a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Fifa President Gianni Infantino,” Neuendorf told AFP subsidiary SID on Monday.
“The impression that there was active political interference in the sport must be swiftly and conclusively dispelled. It is a matter of the integrity of the competition and the credibility of Fifa.”