President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the White House on Monday, July 6, and confirmed that he actually spoke to FIFA President Gianni Infantino about the red card handed to Folarin Balogun and had requested that FIFA review the one-match suspension of the US striker.
Trump said he did not pressure Infantino to reverse the suspension; rather, he only asked Infantino to review the referee’s action and was pleased that the governing body had eventually lifted the suspension and Balogun would likely play the knockout game against Belgium tonight.
The US president went on to cast aspersions on the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who officiated the match and issued the red card, saying the referee has “a shaky past” and is “very suspect”. Trump said he had watched the US-Bosnia and Herzegovina match, and, although he didn’t understand football rules, he believed that Folarin’s tackle was not a foul. Trump said, ”No matter what happens, you have to allow the best players to get into the next game. The president stressed that he did not instruct Infantino to reverse the red card decision but took credit for asking the FIFA president to take a second look at the referee’s decision.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelEven before he called the FIFA president, Trump had posted a nasty statement on his Truth Social platform. He wrote: ”The corrupt and disgraceful FIFA referees are trying to ruin American soccer by giving one of our very talented players, Folarin Balogun, a completely FAKE and UNJUST red card. It’s a total hit job by international bureaucrats who hate to see America winning…”.
President Trump has thus become the first world leader to trigger a reversal of a referee’s on-field decision in a World Cup game and question football regulations. This is capable of damaging the integrity of the game, staining Infantino’s reputation and causing crisis inside FIFA and world football. It has set a dangerous precedent and created unimaginable anxiety in the midst of a global football tournament.
The US team is set to meet the Belgian team Monday night (Nigerian time) in Seattle for a place in the quarter-final. But the unprecedented intervention has overshadowed the game and thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight.
Angry reactions and responses are flying across the Atlantic. The Belgium FA is livid with rage, announcing that it has not even been contacted by FIFA but that it has appealed Infantino’s decision to lift Balogun’s ban. It’s not clear if the appeal would be heard before the US-Belgium game kicks off in the next few hours.
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The football governing body in Europe, UEFA; former FIFA President Sepp Blatter; and other football luminaries across the globe have spoken out against Infantino’s decision. Donald Trump has changed the conversations in bars and pubs in Lagos, Abuja, London and all over the world, as fans are no longer talking about tactics or team selection but are focusing on the relationship between the football governing body and political power.
Folarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina but was sent off for planting his foot into the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic. The 25-year-old striker was dismissed after a VAR review, with US coach Mauricio Pochettino later saying that it was never a red-card offence. I watched the game and thought so too. Disagreeing with a referee’s decision is common in football, but inserting political pressure to reverse a referee’s call is unprecedented.
FIFA says the decision is backed by its own rules. “In line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA said in a statement. ”If Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be provoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.’ ’.
England manager Thomas Tuchel said he believed Balogun did not deserve a red card but disagreed with the FIFA president’s decision to reverse his suspension, having just seen his defender Jarell Quansah get sent off in England’s match with Mexico. ”Who overturns this decision, then, and when? And on what grounds? How far does this go now? ‘ This is strange for me,’ Tuchel told reporters at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico, where his side just drubbed the co-host in a 3-2 win.
The German Football Association IFA should issue a statement on the reports that the decision to overturn the red card was preceded by a telephone call between Trump and Infantino, adding, ”The integrity of the competition and the credibility of FIFA are at stake.”
Although overturning a player’s suspension is not totally rare in the World Cup, Balogun’s incident is creating an uproar because a powerful G7 leader has thrown his leverage into it.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was able to play in Portugal’s opening World Cup games after FIFA suspended the final two games of a three-match ban last year when he was sent off in their penultimate qualifying match against Ireland. Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo was handed a five-match ban after receiving a red card for a tackle that seriously injured Canada midfielder Ismael Kone during the group match on June 11.
The Balogun incident and President Trump’s intervention have also exposed the two-facedness of the US leader. Balogun was born by accident in Brooklyn, New York, to British-Nigerian parents who were vacationing in the US. His mother was refused permission to fly back to London to give birth to him because the airline believed that she was too pregnant for the seven-hour flight. She then checked into a Brooklyn hospital and delivered Folarin, who then received US citizenship by birthright – a constitutional right Donald Trump had been fighting to annul until the Supreme Court affirmed last week that birthright citizenship is a constitutional matter that couldn’t be taken away by executive order.
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Etim Etim
ETIM ETIM is a journalist, banker and author. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, a Regional Manager in Access Bank and is currently a Columnist in Prime Business Africa, The Cable and Businessday newspapers.
He is also the Chief Executive of Stein Meyer Communications, a major media consultancy and the author of the best-selling book, "Akwa Ibom Heroes: Inside Story of the Fight for Abrogation of Onshore-Offshore Oil Dichotomy" and co-author of another book, "Osinbajo Strides: Defining Moments of an Innovative Leader".
