- Trump calls Fifa decision to allow Balogun to play ‘brilliant’.
- Fifa have ‘crossed a red line’ in Balogun reprieve: Uefa.
- Belgium stunned by ruling on Balogun red card.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he asked Fifa President Gianni Infantino to review a red card issued to US striker Folarin Balogun, defending the intervention as a bid to correct what he called a “horrible” officiating decision.
The unprecedented move by a sitting US president in a World Cup has thrust Fifa’s disciplinary process into the spotlight and prompted an angry response from Belgium, which plays the US on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
“All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said the incident that led to Balogun’s red card was simply a case of two athletes colliding.
“I saw the play,” Trump said. “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.”
He said Fifa made a “really brilliant decision” to suspend the red card.
“I think the referee’s call was horrible,” he said.
Trump said he had only sought a review and had not pressured Fifa to overturn the call.
“I didn’t tell them what to do,” he said. “I can’t tell them what to do.”
He said it was important for Team USA to have its best players on the field, suggesting a failure to reverse the suspension would have made Monday night’s game look “rigged” against the US, echoing his false claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him.
“The game tonight is going to be amazing, and we’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team,” Trump said. “And you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, we’ll say it was — I’d say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020, but I won’t get into that.”
Eligibility challenge
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was challenging Fifa’s decision to declare Balogun eligible to play on Monday.
“The RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from Fifa regarding this matter,” it said in a statement.
“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 high-profile criticism also echoed that from some big names in the sport.
“This is our sport, not theirs,” said former Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp, in talks to become the new Germany coach.
“If Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino really sorted this out between themselves, it is madness; it calls everything into question. These two people, who know nothing about football, should have absolutely nothing to do with this.”
