Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy has taken a hard line with anti-Trump soccer fans upset over FIFA’s surprise move to make Folarin Balogun eligible for the World Cup knockout rounds, saying those unhappy with the decision should be “deported.”
FIFA stepped in unexpectedly on Sunday, suspending the one-match ban Balogun received after being sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.
The ruling is a significant lift for the USMNT, with the star forward now available for selection in the team’s round-of-16 matchup against Belgium.
Sources later confirmed to the Daily Mail that President Trump had raised questions about the case, calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino “to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension.”
FIFA announced Sunday that Balogun’s suspension had been put on hold for a one-year “probationary” period, meaning the ban will not take effect unless he commits another offense of a “similar nature and gravity.”
While Trump and many US soccer supporters welcomed the decision, the move has sparked anger among some fans who believe FIFA should not have overturned the immediate consequences of the red card.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy said anti-Trump soccer fans upset by FIFA’s decision to clear Folarin Balogun should be “deported.”
US striker Folarin Balogun had his red-card suspension put on hold by FIFA on Sunday afternoon following this tackle.
Donald Trumpcalled FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to ask him to suspend the one-match ban
While the majority of the uproar has come from soccer fans overseas, there is a small portion of anti-Trump US fans who have admitted that the decision remains unjust.
In response to those fans, Portnoy – who was among the first to report that Balogun’s red card would be overturned – has hit back and called for them to be deported.
Speaking on Monday morning, the Barstool boss said: ‘I’m going to need some fact checking from fact check people. But I’m hearing a lot of talk that this has been in the World Cup before – so it’s not the first time that this has ever happened.
‘It was the right call. This has united a nation. And if you are against this – and you are a United States citizen – [you should be] deported. I want you out of the country.
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‘If you have a problem with this guy playing, because you’re letting politics get in the way, deported. I want you on the first bus, plane, train… see ya!
‘Go live somewhere else. This is about winning soccer,’ he ended.
Shortly after the announcement, US President Donald Trump was among those who praised FIFA’s decision, writing on Truth Social: ‘Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!’
Before reports revealed that Trump had called Infantino over the matter, the President’s post on Truth Social sparked major speculation on social media that he had some involvement in FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban, which was further fueled by another social media post from Barstool Sports boss Portnoy.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino pictured alongside Donald Trump last month
Hours before the news was official, Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy posted this on X
Once Balogun’s suspended ban was confirmed, Portnoy returned to X with this post – hinting that US President Trump played a role in FIFA’s decision
Hours before FIFA’s decision was confirmed, Portnoy had posted on X: ‘Davey Pitch’s futbul [sic] sources are saying a certain red card may be soon overturned.’
Then, once news of Balogun’s suspended ban broke, the Barstool Sports boss returned to social media to hint that Trump did in fact play a part in the decision.
Alongside a doctored image of Portnoy and Trump standing together, with ‘US Soccer’ caps on, he wrote: ‘A lot of people are asking me how this red card got reversed. What happened behind the scenes? Who got it done?
‘Who were my sources that made me confident enough to stake my entire reputation on this Davey Pitch bomb. Well a great journalist never reveals their sources. Sorry.’
Then, on Monday morning, Portnoy admitted that the information had come from White House officials.
‘I was flying home from Saratoga and I got a text. It was a lengthy text and it came from the highest levels of power in the world, and it said ‘I think we’re gonna get this thing overturned. I think this red card is gonna be overturned. But we don’t want people to know where this came from’.
‘It’s pretty obvious where it came from. It came from the Trump administration!’
