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FIFA President Gianni Infantino released a statement on Monday about his interactions with President Donald Trump amid the one-game suspension of United States World Cup star Folarin Balogun.
Trump told reporters he asked Infantino if FIFA would review the play. Infantino said in his release that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate independently, apply the FIFA disciplinary code and decide cases based on the applicable rules and the specific facts before them.”
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 soccer World Cup news conference Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
“Yes, I regularly discuss issues related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States and in this case I received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business leaders from around the world on many different issues,” he said. “During our conversation I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the matter would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. This is how FIFA’s system works and it is a principle that I will always uphold.
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I disagree.
“However, what I always do is respect these decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and FIFA’s credibility at all times.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Balogun received a red card after a VAR review for looking at a play where Balogun stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. He would have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium, but FIFA decided to suspend the ban for one match.
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.
He also took issue with the call itself.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a press conference at the stadium in Mexico City on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening of the FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
“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.
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“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’s appeal was rejected later on Monday.
