Trump’s intervention in World Cup red card retraction prompts fury 

President Trump’s involvement in FIFA’s decision to push back a one-game suspension of a star striker on the U.S. men’s national soccer team is sparking accusations of corruption against the federation and angering soccer fans around the world.  

FIFA shocked many when it announced Sunday it had reversed a red card penalty handed down by officials last week to Team USA’s Folarin Balogun, who committed the violation during the team’s knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

The U.S. won the match despite being a man down, but the call against Balogun, which would have required him to miss his team’s Monday tilt against Belgium, was widely criticized by U.S. fans as excessive and unjust.  

The buzz apparently caught the attention of Trump, who called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and pressed him to review the red card called against Balogun, a source familiar with the conversation confirmed to The Hill.  

Trump reportedly told the FIFA leader that people in the U.S. were unhappy with the call and specifically questioned the use of instant replay to hand it down on the field.  

FIFA said Balogun’s red card would be “suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year,” and declined to offer any further details about how it came to its decision.  

In a Truth Social post after the announcement was made, Trump thanked FIFA for “doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice.”  

The backlash to the reversal was swift and widespread on Sunday.  

The Belgian football federation, in a statement, said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s move, which it argued is “in direct contradiction with the provisions of” the tournament’s rules.  

“I didn’t know that at the World Cup, the 5th of July is actually the first of April — it’s April Fools’ [Day],” Belgian coach Rudi Garcia said during a news conference reacting to Balogun’s reinstatement.  

Garcia went a step further, voicing frustration about what he suggested was a threat to the integrity of global sport, as have others in the international football community in the hours since Balogun’s reinstatement.  

“We’re not defending the national team or federation,” he said of the club’s upcoming match against the U.S. “We are defending football.” 

Trump’s cozy relationship with Infantino has been on display leading into this summer’s tournament. 

Soccer has exploded in popularity in the U.S. since the World Cup was last played here in the early 1990s, and FIFA is expected to reap record profits while hosting its tournament in the largest market for live sports in the world.  

Infantino has gone to great lengths to ingratiate himself to Trump, awarding him........

© The Hill