FIFA Suspends Red Card After Trump Call: Balogun Says “I Thought It Was a Joke”

FIFA suspended a red card against United States forward Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play in the round-of-16 match against Belgium. Balogun later said he thought the decision was “a joke” and that FIFA only acted after Trump called for a review [200287]. The move broke 64 years of precedent and followed a pattern of FIFA bending rules for high-profile players, including letting Cristiano Ronaldo play after a suspension and changing Club World Cup qualification rules for Lionel Messi [200738].

The controversy deepened when Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset warned that FIFA had created an “open door to fraud” through a partnership with a prediction market company, which allows betting on match outcomes with less regulation than traditional sports betting [199827]. Berset also criticized FIFA for allowing political influence to damage the World Cup’s integrity, noting that the Balogun reprieve showed “rules bend under pressure” [199827].

In the final match, Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey [200279]. But the ceremony was overshadowed when the crowd loudly booed both Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino [200673]. Many fans accused Trump of interfering in matches to favor the United States and criticized Infantino for bowing to political pressure [200673]. Unfair VAR decisions further angered spectators, and many believe FIFA lost its reputation in the United States during the tournament [200673].

Trump attended only the final match but exerted unprecedented influence over the tournament behind the scenes [200635]. He co-hosted the trophy presentation alongside Infantino and held the original World Cup trophy before kickoff, in images that spread widely on social media [200279].

Infantino has since secured formal endorsement from more than 200 of FIFA’s 211 member associations for re-election as president, despite the ongoing Balogun scandal [198729].