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President Donald Trump said Monday he asked FIFA to review the decision to red card U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun during last week’s World Cup knockout-stage victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun was shown a red card after a VAR review for looking at a play where Balogun stepped on the ankle of a defender. He would have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium, but FIFA decided to suspend the ban for one match. A source told Pakinomist that Trump asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to have the organization review it.
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President Donald Trump holds a red card during a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Trump spoke about the controversy in the Oval Office.
“All I did was I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a mistake,” the president said. “And again, I’m good at this. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two big athletes crashing into each other and getting tangled up. It wasn’t a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.
“I think it’s terrible … if they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best on the team, to play, I think that would have had a big stain. I passed it on. I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t think he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because it was one, and you wouldn’t see one, and the best game. players.”
Trump said the feeling would be the same if Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane would have received a red card in the same way.
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Folarin Balogun of the United States celebrates after scoring the USMNT’s third goal in the first half of the group stage, Group D match against Paraguay on June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
He also took issue with the call itself.
“If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really tarnished this incredible championship,” Trump continued. “We have to have our best players and Belgium, by the way, Belgium have a great team. We have our best players and they have to have their best. If we win or we lose, it’s fair. Otherwise, let’s say we lost to them, we lost the game. It would be a terrible thing. I think they made a really brilliant decision.
“I think the referee’s call was terrible and nobody talks about it. They talk about the red card like it’s okay. The referee’s red card decision, I didn’t know what the hell a red card was and when I found out I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding.” … I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible.’ And then I looked at his past and it wasn’t that great.”
Belgium said it “sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed and setting out its position on the rules in force.”
“As the only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a referee had been appointed and that the RBFA only had a few hours to complete this appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA,” the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said.
“For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own rules state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA merely sought legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.”
President Donald Trump, Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, and Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, pose for a selfie with Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2025. (Hector Vivas/FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The RBFA added that FIFA has not responded to their requests.
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“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the turn of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months to defend the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition and the interests of football as a whole.”
The USA and Belgium will play in the Round of 16 on Monday night at 8:00 PM ET.
