{"id":2330,"date":"2026-07-06T18:35:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2330"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:35:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:35:55","slug":"trump-says-world-cup-referees-red-card-call-was-horrible-but-insists-he-left-outcome-to-fifa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2330","title":{"rendered":"Trump says World Cup referee\u2019s red card call was \u2018horrible\u2019 but insists he left outcome to FIFA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By COLLIN BINKLEY and SEUNG MIN KIM<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to\u00a0review a red card\u00a0issued against the United States\u2019 star forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup but said he did not demand an outcome.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAll I did was ask for a review,\u201d Trump said when asked about it during an unrelated Oval Office event. \u201cI didn\u2019t say, \u2018You have to do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked for a second look at\u00a0the punishment\u00a0against Balogun in\u00a0the United States\u2019 2-0 win\u00a0against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in Santa Clara, California, near San Francisco. But he said FIFA made the final call to lift Balogun\u2019s mandatory one-game ban for a foul tackle, allowing him to play in Monday\u2019s round of 16 match with Belgium in Seattle.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s decision to suspend the one-game ban was celebrated by many in the United States but brought\u00a0condemnation in the international sports world, where some called it an outrageous intrusion. The Belgian soccer federation is\u00a0challenging Balogun\u2019s eligibility\u00a0for Monday\u2019s match, and the UEFA soccer body in Europe called FIFA\u2019s move \u201cincomprehensible and unjustifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump criticizes the referee\u2019s red card call<\/h4>\n

In remarks on Monday, Trump called the referee\u2019s decision a \u201chorrible\u201d call. He added that it would have been a stain on the tournament if Balogun, the U.S.\u2019 leading scorer at this year\u2019s World Cup with three goals, was held out against Belgium and the U.S. lost. He praised FIFA for making what he described as a brilliant decision in suspending\u00a0the punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was a foul,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Republican president, who said he understands sports \u201creally well,\u201d acknowledged that he did not initially know what a red card is or the consequences it brings. When he learned it would lead to a one-game suspension for Balogun, he said, he decided to step in. He also took issue with the use of video review to issue the red card, arguing that slowed-down reviews can make plays look more aggressive.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBelgium has got a great team,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe have to have our best players, and they have to have their best. And if we win or we lose, it\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA president defends the decision process<\/h4>\n

Soon after Trump addressed the controversy, Infantino issued a statement detailing his call with Trump and defending the independence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA\u2019s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,\u201d Infantino said in a statement on X. \u201cThat is how FIFA\u2019s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s Oval Office event focused on\u00a0new investment accounts for U.S. children, and he immediately sought to deflect attention away from the World Cup controversy. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to know anything about soccer slash football,\u201d he said of reporters gathered in the Oval Office. \u201cFortunately, they won\u2019t be asking any questions on that. Nobody cares about that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who joined Trump at the event, turned attention back to the red card. \u201cOn behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card,\u201d Cruz said during his remarks. \u201cIt was spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed on the extent of his role, Trump said that he made his case to Infantino but that \u201cI didn\u2019t tell him what to do, I can\u2019t tell him what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Separately on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was the right decision to lift the punishment for Balogun.<\/p>\n

In rare comments during a photo op ahead of his meeting with Chile\u2019s foreign minister, Rubio questioned why Belgium would want to win a match \u201cif everyone will argue you didn\u2019t really win it because their best, or their leading, scorer was not on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He joked that it was becoming an \u201cinternational incident\u201d ahead of\u00a0a NATO summit\u00a0in Turkey this week.<\/p>\n

How did Balogun get the red card?<\/h4>\n

The foul against\u00a0Balogun\u00a0was called after he planted his cleated foot on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during their round of 32 match. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn\u2019t initially signal a card, but a slow-motion review resulted in the red card.<\/p>\n

Balogun later said he thought\u00a0a yellow card, a formal warning, would have been fair.<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s decision drew quick rebuke on Sunday from Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, who said it sounded like an April Fools\u2019 Day joke. Meanwhile U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino applauded FIFA\u2019s move, saying his team was punished enough by losing Balogun for the remainder of last week\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

As the drama played out on the pitch last week, it was immediately clear from the perspective of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House FIFA Task Force leader Andrew Giuliani and Trump administration officials that the process used to issue the red card to Balogun was improper.<\/p>\n

Discussions over the red card and what to do about it dominated the flight from Santa Clara back to Washington. The consensus of the group, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the talks, was simply: that the slo-mo replay was improper, so shouldn\u2019t the red card be nullified?<\/p>\n

The next day, Trump officials continued to dig into the rules, consult lawyers and speak with U.S. Soccer about the matter, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.<\/p>\n

Trump was also briefed on updates as he prepared to speak with Infantino, whom the U.S. president has talked with multiple times a week since the World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, began June 11.<\/p>\n

Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press photographer Manny Ceneta contributed from Washington.<\/em><\/p>\n

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President Trump confirmed calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card, helping to lift the striker’s suspension.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,58,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-soccer","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump says World Cup referee\u2019s red card call was \u2018horrible\u2019 but insists he left outcome to FIFA - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=2330\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump says World Cup referee\u2019s red card call was \u2018horrible\u2019 but insists he left outcome to FIFA - 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