US Star's Red Card Suspended After Trump Reportedly Called FIFA President

The US Men's National Soccer Team's (USMNT) Folarin Balogun's red card was suspended by FIFA before Tuesday's World Cup matchup versus Belgium, after President Trump reportedly held a phone conversation with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

For Context: Balogun, the USMNT's top scorer, received a red card midway through the US victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week for a foul that many believed was a controversial call. When a referee gives a player a red card, they must exit the match, leaving their team shorthanded, and are prohibited from playing the next match. By FIFA rules, a red card cannot be appealed by a player's team.

The Overturning: FIFA pointed to Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows it to suspend a red card for one year, as long as the offense is not related to match-fixing. This means if Balogun commits "another infringement of a similar nature and gravity" in the next year, he will serve the one-game ban.

Trump Intervenes: Several sources across the spectrum, like Fox News (Right bias), The Guardian (Left), Reuters (Center), and others, independently reported speaking to an anonymous source who said Trump personally asked FIFA to review the decision. The Guardian said Trump called FIFA three times since Wednesday. On Monday, ahead of the match, the Belgian Football Association (BFA) reportedly appealed FIFA's decision to suspend the suspension.

Reactions: Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" The BFA said in a statement that it was "astonished" by the ruling, which is a "direct contradiction" of FIFA's rules. Belgian coach Rudi Garcia said at a press conference, "I didn't know that at the FIFA World Cup, the 5th of July is now the 1st of April, and that it's April Fool's Day."

Precedent: Euronews (Center) noted that last year during the World Cup qualifier tournament, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo received a three-game ban for elbowing but had two of the matches suspended.

Belgian Media: English-language Belgian outlet The Brussels Times, which reported on the BFA's appeal, wrote, "The American president gets along particularly well with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, but is conspicuously absent from this World Cup."

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