United States President Donald Trump has clarified on the controversy surrounding American striker Folarin Balogun at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup, stating that he only asked FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review the incident because he didn't think it was a foul.
The incident took place during the USA's round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the 64th minute, when a VAR review showed that Balogun's foot had awkwardly landed on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic's ankle.
Folarin Balogun was shown a direct red card, and in the aftermath of the red card, Trump made multiple phone calls to Infantino, according to a report in The Guardian. It was after this that FIFA announced that Balogun's red card was reversed after having invoked Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
Donald Trump on FIFA review
Under this provision, FIFA's judicial body can fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary sanction. “I didn’t tell him what to do,” Trump said, as per The Washington Post. “All I did — I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” he added.
"I think it [the suspension] would have left a big stain. I can't tell them what to do. I don't believe they made the decision; I believe it was the commission that made the decision. And it was the right decision," Donald Trump explained.
Coming to the incident, while Folarin Balogun did stamp on defender Tarik Muharemovic, replays showed that it was accidental rather than malicious.
The Royal Belgian Football Association, in their statement, said that they haven't received any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter.
Belgium are scheduled to face the USA in a round of 16 match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Seattle on Monday. “To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter,” the federation stated.
"Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole," the statement added.
Among the organisations and people who have opposed Balogun’s red card reversal are UEFA, as well as Belgian manager Rudi Garcia. While UEFA accused FIFA of crossing a “red line”, Garcia mocked FIFA’s decision, joking that he didn’t realise April Fool’s Day was in July.
USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino, however, has defended Balogun and said that the USA were already punished enough.
"We were punished enough to play with 10 men [for] 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair," he said. "It's not only because I am the head coach of the US men's national team; I need to defend my side. It's only because 99.9 per cent [of the public agrees] there was an unfair red card," the Argentine added.
