He played the Trump card!
President Trump asked FIFA’s president to review the red-card suspension of the US men’s team’s breakout star – before the organization shockingly announced he could play in Monday’s do-or-die game against Belgium, The Post has confirmed.
Trump reached out to FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly to ask him to take a second look at US star Folarin Balogun’s suspension that came as a result of controversial red card in the the national team’s Round of 32 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a US official confirmed to The Post.
“The President and Infantino did speak, and the President wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension,” the official told The Post.
The Trump administration was even prepared to pair White House attorneys with the US Soccer’s legal team if needed, sources said.
The attorneys had talked about bringing in the global Court of Arbitration for Sport, which may have had oversight to finalize a legal resolution about the controversial card, which was handed down after a slow-motion replay showed the US star stepped on the right ankle of defender Tarik Muharemović.
The president’s gambit paid off, as FIFA rolled back the suspension on Sunday, allowing Balogun to play in the World Cup Round of 16 match on Monday, in a move that riled opponents who claimed the move contradicted established red-card rules.
Under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s rules for the World Cup, the US striker would be automatically suspended for the next match after receiving the red card.
But FIFA stunningly reversed its decision, for the first time since 1962, following outreach from the Trump administration.
Sources told The Post that the prospect of legal action moved the needle, with US Soccer claiming the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) process was incorrectly applied in the Balogun case, a source told The Post’s Mark Cannizzaro.
CAS usually gets involved in cases that involve claims of corruption of game fixing.
“A legal appeal was sent to FIFA,’’ the source said. “They wanted to avoid CAS. The CAS legal was ready to go.’’
Trump specifically reached out to Infantino after the match on Wednesday, a US government official said.
Though the appeal process is run by an independent board, the US government interjected and provided “additional evidence” used in the appeal process, the source said.
“Ultimately, the correct and proper outcome was achieved,” the official said.
The Trump administration supposedly challenged the use of slow-motion instant replay that gave Balogun his red card, arguing it violated FIFA’s rules, sources told OutKick founder Clay Travis.
Officials agreed that the slow-motion replay should only have been used to identify the exact point of contact on a potential foul instead of using it to judge the US player’s intent, according to sources.
Replays appeared to show Balogun was jumping in the air in an attempt to get a header on the ball and not intentionally targeting his opponent’s ankle.
FIFA’s independent committee reviewed the decision and ultimately agreed that the penalty was incorrectly given.
FIFA cited Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, which states that the “judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”
It also states that by “suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.”
Trump took to Truth Social to applaud FIFA’s decision after the news was announced.
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice,” the president, who has developed an incredibly close relationship with Infantino leading up to the World Cup, wrote.
FIFA said in their statement that Balogun’s suspension was suspended for a “probationary period” of one year.
“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,” FIFA said in its statement.
The decision to allow Balogun is a massive break for the United States, which is looking to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
They face Belgium on Monday in Seattle and Balogun is the USMNT’s top scorer with three goals this tournament.
