Donald Trump has been conspicuous by his absence so far at the World Cup, but unusually he may have been making his presence felt behind the scenes with some quiet diplomacy.
In addition to failing to attend a game, despite the USA’s impressive progress to the last 16, Trump had not mentioned the tournament on social media since offering some bland recognition of record attendance figures on 28 June. All that changed on Sunday when he took to Truth Social to thank Fifa for its highly unusual decision to overturnsuspend striker Folarin Balogun’s suspensionban from Monday’s last-16 tie against Belgium.
“Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote.
What happened to Balogun?
The striker was sent off for a seemingly innocuous challenge on the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic after scoring the USA’s first goall in the 2-0 win in the last-32 on Wednesday. The Monaco striker, who is a former England Under-21s international, has scored three goals in three starts at the World Cup and has been the key to USA’s attacking hopes.
Balogun received a straight red card from referee Raphael Claus after a video review, but the decision was widely condemned as extremely harsh. The Brazilian did not even award a free-kick initially despite standing yards from the incident, but was encouraged to review the incident by the video assistant referee. Slow-motion replays showed Balogun’s foot landing on Muharemovic’s upper ankle.
Balogun was given a straight red card for serious foul play, with Fifa confirming two days later that he must serve a one-match ban.
Why the furore?
Fifa’s disciplinary code does not permit appeals against straight red cards, with officials from the world governing body and US Soccer confirming after the game that the sanction could not be challenged.
However, in a surprise announcement on Sunday, Fifa said that under Article 27 of its disciplinary code the sending-off would be rescinded, although the red card will remain on Balogun’s record for a probationary period of one year. If Balogun commits “another infringement of a similar nature and gravity” he will serve his one-game ban.
Article 27 states that Fifa’s judicial committee has the authority to “fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”, a clause which in essence gives them the right of veto over refereeing decisions.
Has this happened before?
The previously little-known Article 27 has already had an impact on the World Cup, with Fifa using the clause to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the first two games of the tournament. The Portugal forward was initially given a three-game ban after being sent off against the Republic of Ireland in a qualifier last November.
The 41-year-old’s suspension was reduced to one match, which he served in another qualifier against Armenia, making him available to play in their opening World Cup group games against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uzbekistan. Ronaldo had been a guest of Trump at the White House the week before his ban was revoked.
In 1962 the Brazil superstar Garrincha played in the final against Czechoslovakia despite having been sent off in the semi-final. He made little impact on the game due to illness, but Brazil won 3-1.
What was Trump’s role?
Sources have told the Guardian that Trump made three calls to Fifa, starting from Wednesday, to ensure the change was made. The White House has not responded to a request for comment. Fifa declined to comment.
There were further reports on Sunday night that the White House World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, had in effect launched a legal challenge against Balogun’s suspension focused on the use of slow-motion replays in making VAR decisions. If accurate then the implications of such an appeal could be significant and open the floodgates for multiple legal challenges to the disciplinary process in future. Again the White House has not responded to a request for comment.
What have Belgium made of it?
Belgium made no attempt to disguise their fury. Their manager, Rudi Garcia, has been left with little more than 24 hours to prepare his players to face opponents with a key striker they thought would be suspended.
In a strongly worded statement the Royal Belgium Football Association accused Fifa of breaking its own rules, and left open the possibility of legal action. “We are astonished by this decision,” the statement read. “This decision is in direct contradiction to the provisions of the World Cup 2026 competition regulations.
“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in World Cup 2026 Circular No 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every match coordination meeting before each match and all World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.
“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the Belgian FA is investigating all potential options.”
The saga is likely to run and run.
