United States President Donald Trump has revealed that he personally requested a review of the suspension handed to striker Folarin Balogun, insisting the decision to suspend the forward was unjust.
The 25-year-old striker was involved in an incident that led to him being sent off in the United States’ Round of 32 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun had been due to serve a one-match ban; however, on Sunday, FIFA announced that the suspension had been deferred for one year, making the 25-year-old eligible for the United States’ Round of 16 tie against Belgium.
Speaking on the incident, Trump argued that the challenge leading to Balogun’s dismissal did not warrant a foul, describing it as an accidental collision between two players sprinting at full speed.
“I spoke to Gianni… I saw the play. I’m a person who loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well. Really well. That wasn’t a foul. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other,” he said.
The US President also questioned the fairness of imposing a suspension that would affect a future match, maintaining that such punishment was excessive.
“It’s one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair; you can’t do that,” he added.
Trump confirmed that he requested FIFA to review the disciplinary decision and praised Infantino for responding to his concerns. he further highlighted his role in bringing major international sporting events to the United States, claiming credit for securing both the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
“Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who is highly respected, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold, and he was good before this started, but he really pushed it in this country. I’m the one who got them to do it [bring the World Cup to America]. It was not [Joe] Biden. I got the Olympics, and I got the World Cup. We gave a little piece to Canada, a little piece to Mexico, but I got that myself,” Trump stated.
The US President noted that his involvement was limited to requesting a review of the decision, stressing that he neither instructed FIFA nor attempted to influence the outcome.
“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul. Again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different,” he explained.
He added that excluding Balogun from the knockout stages would have diminished the spectacle of the tournament.
Drawing comparisons with some of football’s biggest stars, Trump argued that major tournaments should feature the world’s elite players whenever possible.
“If they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe among the best players on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain, and I related just that feeling. I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do.”
“How would you feel if you took Lionel Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo, or Harry Kane out? You can’t do that. We gotta have our best players, and Belgium’s got a great team, by the way. We gotta have our best, and they gotta have their best. And if we win or we lose, it’s fair,” he added.
The President also reiterated that he had personally contacted Infantino to seek a review of the incident, commending the FIFA chief for his leadership while again claiming credit for bringing the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games to the United States.
The controversy surrounding Balogun’s suspension has sparked widespread debate across the football world, with supporters divided over FIFA’s decision to defer the ban.
While critics have questioned the circumstances behind the ruling, Trump insists the review produced the correct outcome and ensured that one of the United States’ key players remained available for the country’s World Cup campaign.
