Infantino defends FIFA independence after Trump’s Balogun call

FIFA President Gianni Infantino issued a statement Monday regarding his interactions with President Donald Trump amid the one-match suspension of American World Cup star Folarin Balogun.

Trump told reporters he asked Infantino if FIFA would review the play. Infantino said in his statement that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts brought before them.”

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“Yes, I regularly discuss FIFA World Cup issues with the President of the United States, and on this subject I received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, soccer stakeholders and business leaders around the world on many different issues,” he said. “During our conversation, I explained that legal proceedings were underway involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the matter would be decided in due course by the competent authorities. This is how the FIFA system works, and it is a principle that I will always respect.

“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are handed down. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I do not agree.

“But what I always do is respect these decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

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Balogun received a red card after a VAR review to review a play in which Balogun stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. He should have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium, but FIFA decided to withhold the one-match suspension.

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.

He also challenged the call itself.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a press conference at the Mexico City stadium on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening FIFA World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

“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.

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“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’s appeal was rejected later on Monday.