President Trump said Monday that he urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to take another look at U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s red card, a decision that initially would have ruled Balogun out of a key match against Belgium. Trump told reporters he “didn’t think it was a foul.”
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Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said he did not direct Infantino to intervene. “I didn’t tell him what to do,” the president said. “I can’t tell him what to do, but — and I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision — because number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.”
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FIFA drew widespread attention Sunday when it announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension — normally an automatic penalty after a red card — would be put on hold for up to a year. “I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul, and you know, again, I’m good at this stuff,” Trump said. “I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”
Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn and plays club soccer for AS Monaco in France, was shown the red card by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus during the second half of the United States’ 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 on July 1.
Trump argued that keeping Balogun out of the Belgium match would have hurt the spectacle. “If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really stained this incredible game,” he said. “We got to have our best players, and they’ve got — Belgium’s got a great team, by the way. We have our best players, and they have to have their best.”
