President Donald Trump said Monday he asked FIFA to review the red card shown to United States forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup but insisted he did not pressure football's governing body to overturn the decision.
"All I did was ask for a review," Trump said during an unrelated Oval Office event. "I didn't say, 'You have to do this.'"
Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino after Balogun was sent off in the United States' 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in Santa Clara, California, and requested that the decision be reviewed. FIFA later lifted Balogun's automatic one-match suspension for the challenge, allowing the striker to play in Monday's Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle.
The decision was welcomed by many in the United States but sparked criticism internationally. The Belgian football federation challenged Balogun's eligibility for the match, while UEFA described FIFA's move as "incomprehensible and unjustifiable."
Speaking on Monday, Trump described the referee's decision as a "horrible" call and said it would have cast a shadow over the tournament if Balogun, the United States' leading scorer with three goals, had missed the Belgium match and the team lost.
"I didn't think it was a foul," Trump said. "I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled."
The Republican president said he understands sports "really well," but admitted he initially did not know what a red card was or that it carried an automatic one-match suspension. After learning of the punishment, he decided to intervene by requesting a review. He also criticised the use of slow-motion video review, saying it can make incidents appear more serious than they actually are.
"Belgium has got a great team," Trump said. "We have to have our best players, and they have to have their best. And if we win or we lose, it's fair."
Shortly after Trump's remarks, Infantino issued a statement on X explaining their conversation and defending the independence of FIFA's disciplinary process.
"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," Infantino said. "That is how FIFA's system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold."
Trump's Oval Office event was primarily focused on new investment accounts for American children, and he initially tried to steer attention away from the World Cup controversy, joking that reporters were not interested in football.
However, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas praised Trump during the event, saying, "On behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card. It was spectacular."
Asked again about his involvement, Trump reiterated that he had simply made his case to Infantino.
"I didn't tell him what to do, I can't tell him what to do," he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also defended FIFA's decision on Monday, saying it was the right outcome.
Before a meeting with Chile's foreign minister, Rubio questioned why Belgium would want to win if people argued the United States had been without its leading scorer. He joked that the issue was becoming an "international incident" ahead of this week's NATO summit in Turkey.
Balogun received the red card after his boot caught Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic's ankle during the Round of 32 match. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus did not initially show a card, but after reviewing the incident in slow motion, he issued a red card.
Balogun later said he believed a yellow card would have been a fair decision.
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia criticised FIFA's decision on Sunday, saying it sounded like an April Fools' Day joke. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, welcomed the decision, arguing that Balogun had already been sufficiently punished by missing the remainder of the Bosnia-Herzegovina match.
According to a senior U.S. official familiar with the discussions, Trump administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House FIFA Task Force leader Andrew Giuliani, believed the video review process that led to the red card had been flawed.
The issue was discussed extensively on the flight back from Santa Clara to Washington, with officials concluding that if the slow-motion review had been improperly used, the red card should be overturned, the official said.
Administration officials later reviewed FIFA's rules, consulted lawyers and spoke with U.S. Soccer before Trump discussed the matter with Infantino, whom he has spoken with several times a week since the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, began on June 11.