MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Balogun says he thought it was “a joke” when FIFA suspended his red card after Trump call

“All I did was ask for a review because I didn't think it was a foul,” Trump said at the time

United States forward Folarin Balogun said he thought it was “a joke” when he was told FIFA had suspended the sanction for his red card, allowing him to play in the World Cup round-of-16 match against Belgium. “Two days before the Belgium match they told me I was allowed to play again, and for me it was unreal; at first I thought it was a joke,” the player said during a conversation with basketball star LeBron James at the Fanatics Fest in New York.

Balogun, the United States' top scorer in the tournament with three goals, was sent off in the round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, after a VAR review, for a foul on Tarik Muharemović. “When I got the red card, I was in shock, and I think most people watching were too, but I had to accept it,” he recounted.

FIFA's decision was surrounded by controversy over the intervention of US President Donald Trump, who called the body's president, Gianni Infantino, on the day of the sending-off to request a review of the play. “All I did was ask for a review because I didn't think it was a foul,” Trump said at the time, and he celebrated the reversal on his social network. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also publicly called for the card to be rescinded.

Under Article 27 of its disciplinary code, FIFA's disciplinary committee did not overturn the red card but suspended the one-match ban and placed the player on a one-year probationary period. The body offered no specific explanation for the measure. Belgium appealed the decision, but FIFA ruled the challenge “inadmissible,” finding that the Belgian federation was not a party to the proceedings.

The reversal drew strong criticism in the football world over the apparent political interference. UEFA said FIFA had “crossed a red line” with a decision it called “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” and former FIFA president Sepp Blatter questioned football becoming a stage for political power. Infantino defended himself, saying he receives calls from heads of state on many matters and that reviews are handled by independent bodies, distancing himself from the decision.

US coach Mauricio Pochettino had backed the move, calling the sending-off unfair. Despite the controversy, the United States lost 4-1 to Belgium and was eliminated, meaning all three host nations — the United States, Mexico, and Canada — went out of the tournament at that stage.

The Fanatics Fest, which brings together sports and entertainment figures, is being held in New York alongside the World Cup final, which Spain and Argentina will contest on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.