{"id":3910,"date":"2026-07-06T18:10:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3910"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:10:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:10:57","slug":"trump-says-he-didnt-demand-baloguns-world-cup-red-card-reversal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3910","title":{"rendered":"Trump says he didn\u2019t demand Balogun\u2019s World Cup red card reversal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>President Trump Monday insisted he didn\u2019t demand that soccer authorities reverse the controversial suspension of World Cup star Folarin Balogun and merely asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to allow an appeal of the red card decision.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3908\">Makers Market charms Santana Row visitors with music, handcrafted items<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With international outrage growing over Balogun\u2019s reinstatement for Monday night\u2019s game with Belgium, Trump called the referee\u2019s call \u201chorrible\u201d but said he didn\u2019t order Infantino to reverse it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t tell him to do anything, I can\u2019t tell them what to do,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI asked for a review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the hands-off claim, a FIFA committee quickly agreed Sunday to scrap the normal one-game suspension Balogun received for the red card he got in the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>\n<p>Trump derided the referee who made the Balogun call as \u201csuspect\u201d and said the entire World Cup would be tarnished if Balogun had not been permitted to play because he is one of the U.S. team\u2019s best players.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would have stained it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>The decision means the U.S. team\u2019s leading scorer will be allowed to play in the Round of 16 match against Belgium with a spot in the quarterfinals against either Spain or Portugal up for grabs.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup hasn\u2019t result in a one-game suspension.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>European soccer body UEFA Monday criticized FIFA for an \u201cincomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.\u201d UEFA, whose member federations include Belgium, added: \u201cSometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,\u201d the UEFA statement added.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3906\">California AG warns of impacts from Berkeley-based animal activist\u2019s overturned Sonoma County convictions<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Belgian soccer federation was preparing an appeal in Seattle early Monday to challenge the Balogun ruling before a FIFA-appointed appeals judge. The game was due to kick off at 8 p.m. New York time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFootball must never become a playground for political power,\u201d tweeted former FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Balogun was sent off directly after a VAR review of a clash with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic resulted in a red card, which comes with the player being sent off the field and a mandatory one-game suspension.<\/p>\n<p>Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn\u2019t initially signal a card but showed Balogun red after the video review.<\/p>\n<p>Balogun\u2019s absence in the round of 16 match with Belgium would have been a serious blow to the U.S. chances to advance to the quarterfinals or beyond.<\/p>\n<p>He scored three goals included a go-ahead strike against Bosnia.<\/p>\n<p>A 25-year-old who plays for Monaco in the French league, Balogun scored 13 goals last season and has 12 goals in 30 international appearances for the U.S. team.<\/p>\n<p>He was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents after his pregnant mother remained in New York to give birth to him instead of returning to their home in Britain. Balogun gained U.S. citizenship under the principal of birthright citizenship, which the Supreme Court recently upheld in a ruling that struck down Trump\u2019s 2025 executive order seeking to end the policy.<\/p>\n<p>Balogun grew up in London and played for English giants Arsenal but in 2023 opted to change his national team affiliation from England, which he had represented at the under-21 level, to the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3904\">Oakland police bust suspected illegal card room after shooting<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump supposedly made no specific ask about the suspension of Folarin Balogun in a call to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in a weekend call and the soccer boss said his hands were tied. But the red card suspension was quickly reversed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump says he didn\u2019t demand Balogun\u2019s World Cup red card reversal - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3910\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump says he didn\u2019t demand Balogun\u2019s World Cup red card reversal - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Trump supposedly made no specific ask about the suspension of Folarin Balogun in a call to FIFA boss Gianni Infantino in a weekend call and the soccer boss said his hands were tied. 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