Trump Intervenes with FIFA to Save Team USA Star—And FIFA Listened
President Donald Trump personally contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to demand a review of a bogus red card that would have sidelined America’s top striker during the World Cup—and the international soccer authority backed down.
The commander-in-chief revealed Monday that he pressed Infantino to overturn the ejection of US forward Folarin Balogun, calling the referee’s decision flat-out wrong. The intervention worked. FIFA took the unprecedented step of suspending the automatic one-match ban, clearing Balogun to face Belgium in a knockout round showdown.
“I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump stated plainly from the Oval Office, demonstrating once again his willingness to fight for American interests on any stage.
A President Who Gets Results
The president made clear he respects the independence of FIFA’s disciplinary process while simultaneously making America’s position crystal clear.
“I didn’t tell him what to do,” Trump explained. “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.”
Why? Because the call was wrong from the start.
The Art of the Athletic Deal
Trump’s assessment of the controversial play cuts through the typical bureaucratic nonsense that plagues international sports organizations.
“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul, and you know, again, I’m good at this stuff,” the president stated with characteristic confidence. “I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.”
He’s right. Anyone who watched the collision between Balogun and his opponent during the USA’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32 could see it was incidental contact—not a red card offense.
Brazilian referee Raphael Claus got it wrong. Trump called it out. FIFA fixed it.
Common Sense Prevails
The president framed the reversal in terms that transcend soccer—this was about fundamental fairness and protecting the integrity of competition.
“Number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players,” Trump emphasized.
He’s absolutely correct. Global audiences don’t tune in to watch referees determine outcomes with questionable calls. They want to see elite athletes competing at the highest level.
“If you would have taken him out, I think it would have really stained this incredible game,” the president added. “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.”
American Advocacy on the World Stage
Balogun, a Brooklyn-born striker who plays for AS Monaco in France’s top league, represents the rising talent powering American soccer forward. Losing him for a crucial World Cup match because of an overzealous referee would have been an injustice.
Trump recognized that and did something about it.
The decision to suspend Balogun’s ban marks a stunning reversal for FIFA, an organization not known for flexibility in disciplinary matters. Red cards typically trigger automatic suspensions without exception.
But this administration doesn’t accept “that’s how it’s always been done” as a valid excuse for bad outcomes.
Winning Matters
The president’s involvement in reviewing a soccer referee’s call might seem unusual to the Washington establishment types who think leaders should stay above such matters. They’re wrong.
American athletes representing their country on the world’s biggest stage deserve a president who has their back. Trump delivered.
FIFA’s decision to suspend the ban—potentially for up to one year—vindicates the president’s judgment and advocacy. The committee got it right because Trump made sure they took another look.
Team USA now faces Belgium with its full roster available. That’s how competition should work—the best versus the best, decided on the field, not in a disciplinary hearing room.
Trump gets results. Even FIFA recognizes that.
