Trump says he asked FIFA chief to review red card foul

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he asked FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review a red-card foul against USA 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 US on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

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.

“These were two great athletes that got tangled up, and this referee, who, is a little bit suspect if you check his past … very suspect,” Trump added.

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, adding that it was important for Team USA to have its best players on the field.

“If they wouldn’t allow a top player … to play, I think it would have had a big stain. I relayed it … and I don’t believe he (Infantino) made the decision, I think it was a committee that made the decision. And it made the right decision because … it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players,” Trump told reporters.

Earlier, European football body UEFA lashed out at FIFA’s decision to suspend US striker Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban in the World Cup, after Trump called FIFA to ask it to review the case, saying world football’s governing body had “crossed a red line” and undermined the integrity of the game.

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” UEFA said in a statement on Monday. “When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of a competition is undermined.”

Reuters has reached out to FIFA for comment.

Balogun, who has scored three goals for the US in the tournament, was sent off after a VAR review for dragging his cleats down the back of defender Tarik Muharemovic’s leg and onto his foot during their win over Bosnia in the round of 32.

Trump had asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review Balogun’s red card, which would have automatically suspended the player from Monday’s round of 16 clash with Belgium.

FIFA suspended the implementation of the ban for a probationary period of one year, however, without rescinding the red card.

The stunning move has thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the spotlight and prompted an angry response from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA), which said it was “astonished” by FIFA’s decision.

The Athletic reported that the RBFA has written to FIFA to lodge an appeal in the matter. ...