‘You can’t do that’: Trump admits lobbying FIFA boss to review US player’s red card

Washington: President Donald Trump admitted calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of stand-out US forward Folarin Balogun’s red card, saying the incident in question “wasn’t a foul” and the automatic one-game suspension was “unfair”.

In an extraordinary, lengthy recounting of how he personally lobbied the World Cup boss, Trump acknowledged he did not even know what a red card meant and was outraged when he was told Balogun would have to miss the US’ round of 16 clash with Belgium.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s soccer federation is officially challenging Balogun’s eligibility to compete in Monday night’s (Tuesday AEST) match, saying it had not received any explanation from FIFA for its decision to suspend the American’s red card.

Trump, who is close with Infantino and was awarded the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” last year at the World Cup draw in Washington, told reporters in the Oval Office why he believed the red card was unfair.

“I saw the play. I’m a person that loves sports, was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well – really well,” Trump said. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other.”

Balogun, America’s stand-out forward with three goals, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win.

The US president traduced referee Raphael Claus, who gave Balogun the red card, saying he was “very suspect”. Claus was accused but cleared of match-fixing allegations in the past.

“He gave him a red card,” Trump said. “I didn’t know what that meant. Then I started hearing that that means he can’t play in the next game.

“It’s one thing to penalise somebody for the game, but how do you penalise him for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair. You can’t do that. So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”

A one-game suspension is an automatic consequence of a red card being issued during a match.

Trump said he did not tell Infantino to overturn the red card. But he admitted warning the FIFA president that it would be a “big stain” on the competition if the suspension continued.

“If they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe the best on the team … I think it would have had a big stain. I related just that feeling.

“I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do. And I don’t believe he made the decision. I believe it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.”

Meanwhile, an astonished Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was formally challenging Balogun’s eligibility to play in the round of 16 clash, which is due to begin at 10am AEST.

It said it only learnt of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension through media reports, and then wrote to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision and an explanation of the process followed. It also set out its own position on the applicable regulations.

“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA,” the RBFA said.

“All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.

“To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming 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.”

FIFA did not immediately answer questions from this masthead.

The situation has outraged the soccer world, with the UEFA – European soccer’s governing body – saying the decision to lift Balogun’s suspension “crossed a red line”.

“Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted,” the UEFA said.

“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws … We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

With AP