Donald Trump Confirms Calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to 'Re-examine' Balogun's Sanction
US President Donald Trump has confirmed reports that he directly intervened in FIFA's decision to lift the one-match suspension of American footballer Folarin Balogun, enabling him to participate in the upcoming knockout stage match against Belgium.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated he personally asked FIFA to "simply re-examine the decision." He revealed he spoke directly with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who had previously awarded him the 'FIFA Fair Play Award,' because he "didn't think it was a foul." This was in reference to an incident during a match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina that resulted in a straight red card for Balogun, the US's leading scorer with three goals so far, and an automatic one-match suspension.
The football world has almost universally condemned this intervention, with UEFA declaring that "a red line has been crossed" and that the credibility of the tournament and the integrity of the sport are at risk.
Teams are not permitted to appeal such automatic suspensions, which are quite common. However, Trump believed it was not a foul, but rather "two great athletes who just bumped into each other and got tangled up." He leveraged his influence to prompt an unprecedented decision from FIFA, which directly contradicts their own rules stating that red card decisions are final, as denounced by the Royal Belgian Football Association.
Trump, on the other hand, felt that Balogun serving his suspension would have "left a big stain on the competition." According to The Guardian, Trump began making calls on Wednesday to try and persuade FIFA to reverse its decision, so that the US could rely on their top striker for the evening's match.
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