LAST UPDATE | 6 Jul

DONALD TRUMP HAS confirmed that he phoned Fifa president Gianni Infantino to “ask for a review” of a red card awarded to one of the United States’s star players.

Striker Folarin Balogun was sent off for the US in the previous round and therefore due to miss the last-16 clash against Belgium today.

But on Sunday, Fifa announced that the suspension would instead be placed on probation for one year, allowing Balogun to feature in the knockout tie while retaining the red card on his disciplinary record.

Folarin Balogun is now available to play in the round of 16 when USA face Belgium ✅

He was shown a red card for this offence against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the resulting one-match ban has now been suspended for a probationary period of one year.#FifaWorldCup pic.twitter.com/zhz1ugIVNg

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 5, 2026

Uefa has said that Fifa “crossed a red line” in allowing Balogun to play in the next round of the World Cup despite having received a red card.

Uefa also described the decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”.

‘I didn’t think it was a foul’

Multiple media reports have claimed that Trump personally lobbied Fifa, football’s global governing body, to overturn Balogun’s World Cup suspension.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump telephoned Infantino after the sending-off, telling him that “everyone” was saying the decision was wrong and urging him to review the automatic suspension.

The US outlet reported that Infantino later called Trump back to inform him Balogun would be available to face Belgium.

The Guardian reported that Trump made three calls to Fifa over the course of several days in an effort to have the suspension lifted.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump posted to his Truth Social platform after the decision. 

Speaking to reporters today, Trump said: “All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul.

“It was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled, that was not a guy punching somebody in the face.”

Trump said it had Fifa not allowed Balogun to play, it would have left a “big stain”.

Trump confirmed that he contacted Fifa boss Infantino over the issue and added: “I didn’t tell him what to do, I can’t tell him what to do.”

Trump: "I didn't know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, 'You gotta be kidding!'"

[image or embed]

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 6, 2026 at 3:24 PM

The US president said that a committee made the decision and that “they made the right decision”.

“We’ve got to have our best players and they have to have their best, and if we win or we lose, it’s fair.”

He said the committee made a “brilliant decision” but that the “referee’s call was horrible”.

“I didn’t know what the hell a red card was, when I found out I said, ‘you got to be kidding’.

“This guy [the referee] just hands up, your best player is not going to play in the next game, I said, ‘wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible’.

“But then I looked at his past, and it wasn’t so great.”

Infantino put out a statement on social media after Trump’s remarks, confirming he had been called by the president but insisting it did not influence the decision to clear Balogun.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the Fifa World Cup with the president of the United States,” he said.

“And on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues.

“During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies.” 

‘Crossed a red line’

The decision has been strongly criticised by Uefa, which governs European football.

Balogun had been due to miss the US side’s last-16 clash against Belgium today after receiving a straight red card during a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Under Fifa rules, a straight red card automatically carries a one-match suspension.

However, Fifa announced on Sunday that the suspension would instead be placed on probation for one year.

Balogun received the red card for stepping on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Fifa cited Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows disciplinary sanctions to be suspended in certain circumstances.

In a statement today, Uefa said the Fifa decision “crossed a red line”.

Uefa said the rules are the “basis for fair, honest and transparent competition” and that while rules are “something open to interpretation”, this is not the case regarding Balogun’s red card.

Uefa added that the one match suspension following a red card is not a “discretionary option”.

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” said Uefa.

It added that “such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition”.

Uefa said that football is “trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws” and that this decision could have “negative consequences on the game as a whole”.

We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.

‘Bad, bad decision’

Belgium’s football association said it was “astonished” by Fifa’s decision, arguing it directly contradicts tournament regulations providing for an automatic suspension following a straight red card.

The federation said it is examining “all potential options” to protect “the fundamental principles of fair play”.

Belgium manager Rudi Garcia mocked the decision, saying: “I didn’t know that at the Fifa World Cup, the 5 July is now the 1 April.”

Norway manager Ståle Solbakken also criticised Fifa, calling it “a bad, bad, bad decision” that would cast a shadow over the remainder of the United States’ tournament regardless of how far the team progresses.

Balogun, who has scored three goals at the tournament, had previously said he accepted the suspension despite believing the challenge was accidental.

US manager Mauricio Pochettino welcomed Sunday’s decision, describing the original red card as “completely unfair”, while captain Christian Pulisic called Balogun’s availability “a boost” ahead of the last-16 clash in Seattle.

With reporting from AFP and Diarmuid Pepper