{"id":2820,"date":"2026-07-06T17:06:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2820"},"modified":"2026-07-06T17:06:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:06:41","slug":"trump-says-he-asked-fifa-to-review-u-s-soccer-star-folarin-baloguns-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2820","title":{"rendered":"Trump says he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun’s suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

President Donald Trump confirmed that he asked FIFA to review\u00a0U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card suspension\u00a0before the organization reversed its decision, allowing the star striker to participate in Monday night\u2019s match.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI asked for a review by FIFA,\u201d Trump said, responding to a reporter\u2019s question during an Oval Office event on Monday. At the same time, the president said he had \u201cnothing to do with the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA\u2019s reversal sparked\u00a0a firestorm in the sporting world\u00a0as the U.S. prepares for the match against Belgium. Balogun, who is regarded as one of the top U.S. players, had initially been banned from playing in Monday\u2019s match after he received a red card last week.<\/p>\n

The president confirmed he spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling the FIFA chief \u201chighly respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump said that he understands sports \u201creally well,\u201d adding that he did not believe Balogun\u2019s action was a foul. Instead, he said he believed the incident was a matter of \u201ctwo great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, would be different,\u201d Trump said, going on to criticize the referee.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPresident Donald Trump said Monday that he spoke to high-level FIFA officials to request a review of Team USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun red card suspension ahead of the match against Belgium. \u201cHow would you feel if we take Messi out? He ran into somebody. Or we took Ronaldo?\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

He railed against the idea of the star player being prohibited from participating in the next World Cup match.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to penalize somebody for the game, but how do you penalize them for a game that hasn\u2019t been played yet?\u201d Trump said. \u201cIt\u2019s very unfair. You can\u2019t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump argued that \u201cno matter what happened, you have to let them use their best players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked later whether he believed his actions could start a new precedent for powerful leaders intervening for their teams, Trump argued that he \u201chad nothing to do with the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game tonight is going to be amazing,\u201d he added later. \u201cAnd we\u2019re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us, I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed he won the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n

At a separate event on Monday with Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco P\u00e9rez Mackenna, Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised FIFA\u2019s decision to reverse Balogun\u2019s suspension. He said the initial call was a \u201cbad decision\u201d and that FIFA should not review plays in slow motion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll bring it up at NATO tomorrow when we\u2019re there with the Belgians and everybody else,\u201d he added, referencing the upcoming summit in Turkey<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I just hope the match will go on,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone will be at full strength, and the winner will be the winner. And if it\u2019s Belgium, they have a very good team, you know, they\u2019ll move on, and they can say they beat the U.S. at full strength at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balogun\u2019s red card prompted fury from American soccer fans and concerns about the team\u2019s prospects without the star player in the next match. Balogun was given a red card during last week\u2019s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which the U.S. ultimately won. The foul was handed down after a\u00a0replay review showed Balogun\u00a0appearing to inadvertently step on the back of a player\u2019s leg.<\/p>\n

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who attended the game and sat next to Infantino, immediately started making calls to see what, if anything, could be done, given that these kinds of appeals are remarkably rare, according to two people familiar with the discussions.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDuring a ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, jokingly thanked President Donald Trump for his role in FIFA reversing the controversial red card suspension for Team USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

FIFA White House Task Force Head Andrew Giuliani informed Trump about the situation. This kicked off days of strategic discussions about how the federal government could help the U.S. soccer legal team form its argument to overturn the red card, these people said.<\/p>\n

The president spoke with Infantino because he \u201cwanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension,\u201d according to a U.S. official.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process,\u201d the official said. \u201cUltimately, the correct and proper outcome was achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The appeal process is run by an independent board, the U.S. official added.<\/p>\n

The Royal Belgian Football Association said in a Monday statement that it would push for Balogun to be excluded from the upcoming match. The association said it \u201chas no alternative but to challenge the player\u2019s eligibility for the upcoming match.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,\u201d the association said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Influencer killed, 2 others hurt after shots fired at Lamborghini in Miramar, cops say<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump said he asked FIFA to review U.S. star Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card suspension before the organization reversed its decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump says he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun's suspension - Jacksonville Moving News<\/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:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=2820\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump says he asked FIFA to review U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun's suspension - 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