Source: CNN
For 24 days, the World Cup seemed to achieve a rare feat in America in 2026: It had almost nothing to do with Donald Trump.
But in an extraordinary twist following an appeal from the president, star US goal-scorer Folarin Balogun will play in the knockout clash with Belgium on Monday, despite being sent off in the previous match and earning a one-game ban.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president posted Sunday, taking a victory lap on Truth Social.
Trump added more rhetorical rocket fuel to the controversy on Monday, confirming that he’d called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask him to review the suspension.
“I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this,’” Trump said in the Oval Office, adding that he didn’t think Balogun’s offense was even a foul.
Balogun’s reprieve rocked global soccer, triggering fresh speculation about the cozy relationship between Trump and the FIFA supremo.
Trump’s call to Infantino and FIFA’s ultimate decision lifted a controversy about soccer refereeing into an international incident surrounding the world’s most popular sporting showcase.
The subsequent drama raises concerns about political interference and the integrity of the tournament. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether Trump’s muscling into the issue was decisive. Just the impression that it was risks souring global perceptions of an event that had generated remarkably positive headlines.
Controversy is guaranteed at World Cup finals. Who could forget Diego Maradona’s “hand of God” goal for Argentina in 1986 or French star Zinedine Zidane’s 2006 World Cup final headbutt?
But there is no known precedent for a political leader pressuring FIFA about who can play in a game, let alone one that is so important to a host nation’s chances of advancing.
The hyperpartisan nature of soccer fandom means US supporters probably won’t care just how Balogun got to line up in Seattle on Monday.
But the Royal Belgian Football Federation said pregame machinations contravened FIFA’s regulations and prejudiced fair play. The national team’s coach told reporters the federation would act not to defend national honor but to defend “football in general. It defends its integrity. It defends its ethics.” The federation added on Monday that it was challenging Balogun’s availability, although it also accused FIFA of a lack of transparency over the decision.
On Monday, international reverberations over the Balogun case escalated.
UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, said in a statement that the suspension of Balogun’s ban threatened the reputation of the tournament. “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” UEFA said.
The controversy will make the USA vs. Belgium clash Monday night even more of a must-watch — and if the national team wins, many US fans won’t care about an off-field rules controversy.
But it would be unfortunate if the incident detracts from an otherwise ebullient World Cup, with supporters outside the US potentially regarding an American victory with an asterisk.
In isolation, there are good reasons to think Balogun got a raw deal when he was sent off during the national team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week. But Trump’s decision to get involved introduces the possibility that Balogun’s reprieve may not be on the grounds of fairness alone.
The referee didn’t immediately order Balogun’s dismissal, but after watching a video review of the incident, ruled that he’d committed a serious foul. At full speed, the clash with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović looked innocuous. But when the challenge was slowed down, Balogun’s foot was seen to rake down the back of his opponent’s leg and twist his ankle into a hideous position.
Many fans argued that Balogun was the latest player to be disadvantaged by soccer’s video assistant referee system and that he had no intent to injure Muharemović. Often, clashes between players look far worse in slow motion. In the generations before technological innovation, challenges like Balogun’s escaped censure.
It’s possible to conclude Balogun was unlucky — but also to see the challenge as meriting a red card under FIFA’s standards. You see similar challenges every week in top European pro leagues that also result in sendings-off. On the other hand, it’s hard to understand why Balogun got his marching orders but Lionel Messi got away with a similar challenge in Argentina’s first match.
But FIFA’s response to the incident and Trump’s choice to get involved are raising alarms.
After the game, FIFA made clear the US team had no route to appeal the suspension and that Balogun would be unavailable to play in Seattle on Monday. This was a huge blow for the Americans, since the Monaco forward is the team’s top scorer.
FIFA’s announcement of the suspension’s reversal Sunday offered very little explanation, fueling criticism that an exception was made for the US star after Trump complained.
The FIFA disciplinary committee invoked Article 27 of its code, which allows the full or partial suspension of a disciplinary measure under a probationary period. The red card remains in place, and if Balogun commits another offense, the suspension will be restored, along with potential new penalties.
It was not the first time FIFA used the clause. It previously stirred accusations of favoritism toward a box-office player when it allowed Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the preliminary rounds of these finals despite facing suspensions for a red card in a qualifying game.
It was almost inevitable that Trump would find a way to insert himself into the World Cup, which he has compared to multiple simultaneous Super Bowls and which creates the kind of global spotlight he can’t resist.
He took a back seat, however, during early-round games, seeming more focused on 250th anniversary celebrations of the Declaration of Independence — an event in which critics said he also intervened excessively.
But the Balogun incident was likely too much for Trump to resist. He’s a devoted and knowledgeable sports fan, and he’s often used the crucible of sports to push his political and culture war themes — or as a forum to display his own power. Earlier this year, Trump celebrated the US men’s ice hockey team’s triumph against Canada in the Winter Olympics as proof America was “winning again” under his leadership, injecting a partisan note into what had been a unifying national moment.
And Trump’s political career shows he hardly sees rules as an impediment. It’s not important how you win. It’s winning that counts.
A source familiar with the matter told CNN on Sunday that Trump spoke with Infantino after Balogun’s red card and asked him to review the call.
The two have had something of a bromance, and the FIFA chief’s support often seemed a direct political endorsement of a hugely controversial president.
Infantino is often at Trump’s side. He even showed up at a Gaza peace summit in Egypt last year. After Trump’s second-term inaugural rally, Infantino declared on Instagram, “Together, we will make not only America great again, but also the entire world.”
The FIFA chief has long faced political scrutiny. He had to answer for alleged human rights abuses in the building of stadiums in Qatar before the last World Cup finals, and for the decision to award the 2034 finals to authoritarian Saudi Arabia. Infantino’s critics were even more discomfited when he awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize after the US president failed to win the Nobel version.
But Infantino has argued it is critical for the head of FIFA to have cordial ties with the leader of a host nation. The chumminess with FIFA is especially notable because the US government — including the FBI, the Justice Department and the IRS — was instrumental in exposing FIFA’s biggest corruption scandal in 2015.
Now the precedent is set, who is to say whether other powerful world leaders might think they can grab a political win by pressuring FIFA over an on-field incident?
And every controversial challenge for the rest of the World Cup is now going to face huge scrutiny. If FIFA invoked its hazy powers to suspend the Balogun ban, is it not now honor-bound to do so for any player of any other nation?
That issue erupted on Sunday night after England defender Jarell Quansah was also sent off after a VAR review, and under FIFA rules is now facing a one-game suspension.
There was another blockbuster World Cup story Sunday, when Brazil crashed out of the tournament thanks to a brace of goals by Norway’s towering striker Erling Haaland.
But the furor stirred by the tale of Trump and the top US goal-scorer raised the damaging specter that events off the pitch — as well as those on it — may alter the destiny of the golden trophy the president is expected to award in two weeks.
That’s a shame for a tournament that previously provided a welcome diversion from America’s divisive politics.
This story has been updated with additional information.