President Donald Trump blasted the “bogus” World Cup one-game, red card suspension handed to U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun and accused the referee who made the initial decision of being “a little suspect.”
Balogun, who has been Team USA’s top scorer in the World Cup, was given a one-game suspension last week after he accidentally stepped on a Bosnian player’s foot. The suspension would have kept him on the sidelines for the crucial USA-Belgium game on Monday evening.
But speaking from the White House on Monday morning, Trump ripped the call that sent Balogun out of Monday night’s game.
“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,” Trump said.
“These were two great athletes who got tangled and this referee who is a little bit suspect if you check his past,” he added. “He made a call that nobody could believe.”
Trump was not just blowing steam about the ref who dealt Balogun a red card. It turns out that Raphael Claus, a FIFA referee of Brazilian descent, was accused of match fixing in his native country in February 2023.
Trump insisted that Balogun “didn’t do anything wrong,” and noted he is one of TEAM USA’s best players.
Trump went on to note that he did, indeed, ask FIFA to review the call.
“It’s one thing to penalize somebody for the game, but how do you penalize them for a game that hasn’t even been played yet? It’s very unfair,” the president said.
FIFA did reverse its one-game suspension after Trump asked for a review of the call. But the reversal is now under attack and being labeled “special treatment” for Donald Trump.
Finally, Team Belgium, which the USMNT will face on Monday night, has appealed the reversal in an attempt to keep America’s top player sidelined for the important game.
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