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FIFA President Gianni Infantino issued a statement Monday addressing his interactions with President Donald Trump amid U.S. World Cup star Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspended suspension.
Trump told reporters that he asked Infantino if FIFA would review the play. Infantino said in his statement that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code and decide cases based on the applicable rules and the specific facts before them.”
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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a press conference on the 2026 soccer World Cup on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the president of the United States, and on this matter, I received a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, soccer stakeholders and business executives around the world on many different topics,” he said. “During our conversation, I explained to him that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. This is how the FIFA system works, and it is a principle that I will always defend.
“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes they surprise me, 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. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. 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.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize during the official draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Héctor Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
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Balogun received a red card following a VAR review for observing a play in which Balogun stepped on the ankle of a Bosnia and Herzegovina defender. He would have been suspended for the team’s match against Belgium but FIFA decided to suspend the one-match ban.
Trump addressed the controversy in the Oval Office.
“The only thing I did was ask for a review, because I didn’t think it was a mistake,” the president said. “And again, I’m good at these things. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who ran into each other and got tangled up. It wasn’t a guy punching someone in the face or anything that was different.
“I think it’s terrible… if they hadn’t allowed a top player to play, maybe the best, maybe one of the best on the team, I think it would have been a big stain. I passed it on. I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t think he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision and made the right decision because, number one, it wasn’t a foul and you want to see a game with your best players.”
Trump said the feeling would be the same if Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane had received a red card in a similar way.
He also took issue with the call itself.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a press conference at the stadium in Mexico City on June 10, 2026, a day before the opening match of the FIFA World Cup between Mexico and South Africa. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)
“If you had taken him out, I think it would have really tarnished this incredible championship,” Trump continued. “We have to have our best players and Belgium, by the way, Belgium has a great team. We have our best players and they have to have the best. If we win or lose, it’s fair. Otherwise, let’s say we lost against them, then we lost the game. It would be a terrible thing. I think they made a really brilliant decision.
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“I think the referee’s decision was horrible and no one talks about it. They talk about the red card like it’s OK. The referee’s red card decision, I didn’t know what the hell a red card was and when I found out I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’… I said, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of power, that’s terrible.’ And then I looked at his past and it wasn’t that good.”
Belgium’s appeal was dismissed later on Monday.
