NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
President Donald Trump said Monday he has asked FIFA to review the decision to issue a red card to U.S. men’s soccer team star Folarin Balogun in last week’s victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup round of 16.
Balogun was shown a red card after a VAR review reviewed a play in which Balogun stepped on a defender’s ankle. He should have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium, but FIFA decided to withhold the one-match suspension. A source told PK Press Club that Trump had asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask the organization to review it.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
President Donald Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Trump addressed the controversy in the Oval Office.
“All I did was ask for a review, because I didn’t think it was wrong,” the president said. “And again, I’m good at that kind of thing. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes crashing and getting tangled. It wasn’t a guy hitting someone in the face or anything that would be different.
“I think it’s terrible…if they hadn’t allowed a top player, maybe the best, maybe one of the best on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain. foul and you want to see a game with your best players.”
Trump said the feeling would be the same if Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane had received a red card in the same way.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Folarin Balogun of the United States celebrates after scoring the USMNT’s third goal during the first half of the Group D group stage match against Paraguay on June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
He also challenged the call itself.
“If you had eliminated him, I think it would have really tainted this incredible championship,” Trump continued. “We have to have our best players and Belgium, Belgium have a great team by the way. We have our best players and they have to do their best. If we win or lose, it’s fair. Otherwise, let’s say we lost to them, then we lost the match. That would be a terrible thing. I think they made a really brilliant decision.
“I think the referee’s decision was horrible and no one talks about it. They talk about the red card like everything was fine. The referee’s decision to give a red card, I didn’t know what a red card was and when I found out I said, ‘You’re kidding.’ … I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible.’ And then I looked at his past and it wasn’t so great.”
Belgium said it had “sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that was followed and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.”
“In response, FIFA sent a letter to the URBSFA indicating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed and that the URBSFA only had a few hours to finalize this appeal. No information was provided by FIFA,” indicated the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA).
“For an appeal to be admissible, the FIFA regulations themselves stipulate that the reasoned decision must have been previously communicated to the applicant. While the URBSFA was simply looking for legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it was declared inadmissible.”
President Donald Trump, Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, and Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, pose for a selfie with Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, during the official drawing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, December 5, 2025. (Hector Vivas/FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The URBSFA adds that FIFA has not responded to its requests.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
“Whatever the sporting outcome of this match, the URBSFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the hours, days and months to come to defend the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition and the interests of football as a whole.”
The United States and Belgium will play in the round of 16 Monday night at 8 p.m. ET.
