Trump says he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun’s suspension

President Donald Trump confirmed that he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension before the organization reversed its decision, allowing the star striker to participate in Monday night’s match.

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“I asked for a review by FIFA,” Trump said, responding to a reporter’s question during an Oval Office event Monday. At the same time, the president said he had “nothing to do with the decision.”

FIFA’s reversal sparked a firestorm in the sporting world as the U.S. prepares for the match against Belgium. Balogun, who is regarded as one of the top U.S. players, had initially been banned from playing in Monday’s match after he received a red card last week.

The president confirmed he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling the FIFA chief “highly respected.”

Trump said that he understands sports “really well,” adding that he did not believe Balogun’s action was a foul. Instead, he said he believed the incident was a matter of “two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”

“That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, would be different,” Trump said, going on to criticize the referee.

He railed against the idea of the star player being prohibited from participating in the next World Cup match.

“It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game, but how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played yet?” Trump said. “It’s very unfair. You can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”

In a statement posted to X, Infantino confirmed he spoke with Trump about the red card.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues,” he said.

Infantino said that during his call with Trump, he “explained 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.”

Asked during his Oval Office appearance whether he believed his actions could start a new precedent for powerful leaders intervening for their teams, Trump argued that he “had nothing to do with the decision.”

“The game tonight is going to be amazing,” he added later. “And we’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.”

Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election.

At a separate event Monday with Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised FIFA’s decision to reverse Balogun’s suspension. He said that the initial call was a “bad decision” and that FIFA should not review plays in slow motion.

“Maybe we’ll bring it up at NATO tomorrow when we’re there with the Belgians and everybody else,” he joked, referencing the upcoming summit in Turkey.

“But I just hope the match will go on,” he said. “Everyone will be at full strength, and the winner will be the winner. And if it’s Belgium, they have a very good team, you know, they’ll move on, and they can say they beat the U.S. at full strength at home.”

Balogun’s red card prompted fury from American soccer fans and concerns about the team’s prospects without the star player in the next match. Balogun was given a red card during last week’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which the U.S. ultimately won. The foul was handed down after a replay review showed Balogun appearing to inadvertently step on the back of a player’s leg.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who attended the game and sat next to Infantino, immediately started making calls to see what, if anything, could be done, given that these kinds of appeals are remarkably rare, according to two people familiar with the discussions.

FIFA White House task force head Andrew Giuliani informed Trump about the situation. This kicked off days of strategic discussions about how the federal government could help the U.S. Soccer legal team form its argument to overturn the red card, these people said.

The president spoke with Infantino because he “wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension,” according to a U.S. official.

“The U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process,” the official said. “Ultimately, the correct and proper outcome was achieved.”

The appeal process is run by an independent board, the U.S. official added.

The Royal Belgian Football Association said in a Monday statement that it would push for Balogun to be excluded from the upcoming match. The association said it “has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,” the statement said.

The FIFA Appeal Committee on Monday denied Belgium’s request.