Donald Trump has acknowledged personally asking the head of soccer’s world governing body for the review that led to the extraordinary reversal of a U.S. player’s World Cup suspension.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, the president confirmed for the first time that he contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino, urging him to re-examine the red card decision after realizing it would have ruled out star player Folarin Balogun from America’s World Cup knockout clash against Belgium tonight.
“He gave him a red card,” Trump said of referee Raphael Claus’ decision, before making a stunning admission.
“I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t think it meant much, and then I started hearing that means he can’t play in the next game.”
“I said, ‘Boy, that’s big.’ You know, if it happened to another player, it would have been unfair, but when they take your best player… and they say you can’t play, that’s very unfair,” Trump continued.
“It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game, but how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair; you can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”
The president’s remarks came during an extended Oval Office exchange in which he also dwelled on the distinction between the terms “soccer” and “football,” joking about what Americans should call the sport while defending his involvement in the disciplinary dispute.
Balogun got a red card after video showed him stepping on the ankle of a Bosnia-Herzegovina player on Wednesday.
But Trump accused Claus, who has previously been accused of match fixing, of being “a little bit suspect” and suggested reporters dig up dirt on his past.
“I’m a person that loves sports, and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well, and that wasn’t a foul—that wasn’t even an infraction,” the 80-year-old president said.
“That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other.”
Belgium has challenged the reversal, arguing the governing body created an unprecedented exception just hours before the clash.
The controversy has now overshadowed one of the biggest matches of the United States’ World Cup campaign and has shone the spotlight on the unusually cozy relationship between the president and the FIFA boss.
Infantino has spent years cultivating Trump as the United States prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup.
The notorious suck-up has been a regular at the White House since Trump’s return to office, appearing alongside the president at multiple events and repeatedly praising his leadership.
He attended Trump’s inauguration, accompanied him on a trip to the Middle East last year, and presented him with a personalized Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office.
After Trump was denied the Nobel Peace Prize last year, Infantino even created a consolation “FIFA Peace Prize” and presented it to the U.S. president in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center.
In a tacit acknowledgment of the relationship between the pair, Senator Ted Cruz, who attended Monday’s Oval Office event, thanked Trump for “getting rid of that ridiculous red card,” and added, “there was a reason the FIFA trophy sat here (in the White House) for as long as it did.”
Against that backdrop, FIFA’s decision to suspend—rather than enforce—Balogun’s automatic one-match ban has sparked outrage across the soccer world.
UEFA accused FIFA of having “crossed a red line” and warned that political intervention risks undermining the integrity of the World Cup.
Former FIFA officials, coaches and football administrators have also questioned whether the governing body created an unprecedented exception for the tournament’s co-host nation.
The Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision and sought clarification over how Balogun had been cleared to play.
On Monday after Trump’s comments, Infantino issued a statement acknowledging he spoke to the president and told him it would be decided by independent bodies.
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, 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,” he said.
“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. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.”
Trump also appeared unconcerned by the criticism.
“They think 50 or 60 million people are going to be watching the game tonight, and you know this is getting to be Super Bowl numbers,” he boasted.
