FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Round of 32 - United States v Bosnia and Herzegovina - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - July 1, 2026 Folarin Balogun of the U.S. is shown a red card by referee Raphael Claus REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
The White House reportedly made a direct call to FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, requesting the overturning of a red card suspension made on an American player.
Folarin Balogun, 25, received an automatic one-game suspension following a red card during the Bosnia and U.S match on July 1.
But ahead of the USA's crucial World Cup quarterfinal match against Belgium on Monday night, FIFA reversed the suspension and allowed Balogun to play, reported Ben Jacobs for GiveMeSport.
President Donald Trump subsequently praised FIFA on Truth Social, "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!"
Critics reacted online.
"Possible corruption and cheating aside, hilarious that the Trump administration [was] allegedly pushing hard to reinstate a player who is a literal birthright citizen," Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo News, posted on X.
"FIFA has explicit statutes preventing political or government interference. This should be a resigning matter for a repeatedly disgraced FIFA President," Tim Stillman, a football writer for ArseBlog.com, posted on X.
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