Translated with AI
US President Donald Trump confirmed that he personally approached FIFA President Gianni Infantino with a request to reconsider the automatic disqualification of US national team striker Folarin Balogun for the next World Cup match, the BBC reports.
CBS News and other media outlets previously reported that the decision to reinstate Balogun was made following a phone call between Trump and Infantino. According to media reports, the US president called the FIFA president on Thursday and discussed the situation surrounding the American forward. There was initially no official confirmation of this information.
Trump later confirmed that he had indeed contacted the FIFA chief. He said the football authorities had made the "right decision" in overturning the punishment. The US president stated that otherwise, the tournament would have been "tainted."
25-year-old Folarin Balogun is the United States' leading scorer at the current World Cup. After being sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina, he was automatically ruled out of the Round of 16 clash with Belgium.
However, on Sunday evening, FIFA suspended the ban. The punishment was suspended, and the player was given a 12-month probationary period. This decision allowed Balogun to be included in the squad for the next match.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said he had asked FIFA to reconsider the punishment because he believed Balogun had not violated the rules.
"I think these were two great athletes who collided and just got tangled up in each other," the US president said.
Trump also said a possible disqualification would be a "big blemish on the tournament."
"I can't tell FIFA what to do. And, as far as I understand, the decision wasn't made by the organization's management, but by the disciplinary commission. And it was the right decision," he added.
On Sunday, the American president thanked FIFA for “correcting a grave injustice.”
The football authorities' decision sparked a sharp reaction in Belgium. The Royal Belgian Football Association stated that it was "shocked" by the decision not to suspend the American striker.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevost said that if the decision was indeed caused by a phone call, it would be a "flagrant violation of the most fundamental principles of football and sport."
Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who left office in 2016 following a corruption scandal, also commented on the situation.
"Football should never become a platform for political power," he wrote in X.
The Royal Belgian Football Association has appealed the decision to suspend Balogun's ban.
However, FIFA declined to consider the Belgian side's complaint on Monday. The organization explained this by saying that the disciplinary process against Balogun does not involve Belgian footballers.
"The request cannot be accepted for consideration on the grounds that the RBFA is not a party to this procedure and therefore does not have the right to appeal this decision," FIFA said in a statement.
In response, the Belgian Football Association stated that it reserves the right to challenge the lifting of Balogun's suspension. Specifically, the Belgian side could appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne if the American striker is included in the match squad.
The RBFA noted that they have not yet received the reasons for FIFA's decision or the requested information.
The Belgian association also informed the United States Soccer Federation of its intention to challenge Balogun's eligibility to participate in the match if the player is included in the roster presented to the referee before the game.
The Union of European Football Associations also harshly criticized FIFA. UEFA called the decision not to apply an automatic ban to Balogun "unprecedented, incomprehensible, and completely unjustifiable."
UEFA said changing the rules mid-World Cup was "crossing a red line."
Throughout the history of the World Cup, footballers have been shown 188 red cards. Before that, only one player had escaped subsequent disqualification: Brazil's Garrincha at the 1962 World Cup, before automatic suspensions were introduced. The decision to keep him in the squad was also accompanied by accusations of political interference.
UEFA stressed that an automatic one-match disqualification is not a matter of discretion, but a fundamental principle enshrined in the regulations.
"When rules are no longer enforced by those charged with upholding them, the integrity of the game is threatened and the credibility of the tournament is undermined," the organization said.
UEFA also warned that the Balogun ruling sets a dangerous precedent. The organization believes that similar cases at the current World Cup will now have to be handled in the same manner, which could undermine the sporting integrity of the competition.
European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef also stated that decisions in sport should be made exclusively by sports organisations, not politicians.
He argued that interference in sporting decisions undermines the autonomy of sport. He called for a focus on the real problems of governance, including the use of sport for political purposes.
Relations between UEFA and FIFA have remained tense in recent months due to a number of controversial decisions.
In particular, after Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States to work at the World Cup, UEFA invited him to referee the European Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa, which will take place on August 12.
According to FIFA rules, Balogun should not have been allowed to play in the next match after his dismissal.
However, the organization referred to Article 27 of the disciplinary regulations, which allows for the full or partial suspension of disciplinary measures.
It was this article that FIFA used to replace Balogun's actual disqualification with a suspended sentence.
This is the first time Article 27 has been invoked during a World Cup. FIFA officials did not explain the reasons for this decision.
UEFA acknowledged that rules can sometimes be interpreted, but stressed that the organization does not believe Balogun's situation falls under such circumstances.
"We do not believe that such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and inexcusable decision could have been taken," UEFA said.
Trump, in turn, thanked FIFA for lifting the disqualification.
"FIFA, thank you for doing the right thing and righting a terrible injustice," the US president wrote on Truth Social.
FIFA declined to comment on the phone call between Trump and Infantino. The US president and the head of international football's governing body are longtime friends.
The lifting of the disqualification raises questions about how the decision was made to benefit one of the World Cup host countries.
The winner of the match between the USA and Belgium will face the winner of the match between Spain and Portugal in the quarterfinals.
