Trump called FIFA, FIFA said Yes: Balogun plays – Football cleary has a catastrophic problem

Last Updated on 5 July 2026

On Wednesday, FIFA told ESPN and ABC News unequivocally that there was “no mechanism for appeal” for Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension. The rules were clear.

The decision was final. Balogun would miss USA’s Round of 16 clash with Belgium in the World Cup.

And then, on Sunday afternoon, the day before the game, Donald Trump picked up the phone.

The White House called Infantino. Infantino did exactly as told.

GiveMeSport sources confirmed that the White House made a direct call to FIFA, asking Gianni Infantino to review Balogun’s sending-off and subsequent suspension.

FIFA then released a statement invoking Article 27 of their disciplinary code: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one year.”

Balogun will play against Belgium on Monday night. Trump posted on Truth Social moments later: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Let us be clear about what happened here.

FIFA had confirmed to multiple major outlets that no appeal process existed for this type of red card. That was true on Wednesday. On Sunday, with Trump involved, Article 27 materialised from thin air. The same mechanism was used for Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was a three-match ban reduced with two games suspended, meaning this precedent existed. But Ronaldo did not have a sitting head of state making personal calls to FIFA’s president on his behalf the night before a match. That is the difference. That is the problem.

The World Cup keeps becoming an uneven playing field

Think about what this means for every other team at this tournament. Qatar had Assim Madibo banned for 5 games after a challenge that broke Kone’s leg. Muharemovic required lengthy treatment after Balogun’s foul, the same foul FIFA decided does not warrant a ban.

Taremi had a goal disallowed by a millimetre that may have cost Iran their World Cup. Senegal lost a penalty in extra time that ended their campaign. Nobody called Infantino for any of them. The Balogun red card was controversial. The VAR decision was debatable.

A proper independent review process, applied equally to all nations, would be entirely reasonable. What happened instead was a phone call from the most powerful political office on the planet to a sporting body that has consistently shown it cannot resist political pressure.

That is not sport. That is something else entirely.