Trump says he asked FIFA chief to review red card foul

U.S. President Donald Trump called FIFA head Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the red card suspension of U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he asked FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review a red-card foul against U.S.A. striker Folarin Balogun and that he did not think the foul called by the “horrible” referee was fair.

“All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The unprecedented move has thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight and prompted an angry response from Belgium, who play the U.S. on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Trump said the incident that got Balogun the red card was simply a case of two athletes colliding and he raised questions about the fairness of the referee who called the foul.

“I saw the play,” Trump said. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running whole speed that happened to crash into each other.”

He said FIFA made a “really brilliant decision” to suspend the red card. “I think the referee’s call was horrible,” he said.

Trump said all he did was ask for a review. “I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do,” he said.

He said it was important for team USA to have its best players on the field.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland: Editing by Doina Chiacu)

More to come. Previous reporting from The Associated Press is below.

SEATTLE -- The Belgian soccer federation wants explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game.

Belgium takes on the United States later Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Belgian federation (RBFA) said it has still not received either “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter. In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.”

It did not specify where it intends to appeal FIFA’s decision.

U.S. President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of star U.S. forward Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allowed him to play against Belgium.

The Belgian federation said it learned through media reports about the FIFA’s move and sent a letter to the governing body requesting a copy of the decision as well as an explanation of the process.

“As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal,” it said. “No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.

The RBFA insisted that FIFA’s regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant.

“While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible,” it said. “All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.”

Balogun, the star forward for the U.S. with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.

“Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defense of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole,” the Belgian federation added.

By Samuel Petrequin