UPDATED: 8.01 a.m. PT: President Trump confirmed Monday morning that he called FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to request a review into USMNT star Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension at the World Cup.
Trump says soccer’s governing body “made the right decision” to suspend the ban, adding it would have left a “big stain” on the tournament had it stood.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said he told FIFA he “didn’t think it was a foul.”
PREVIOUSLY, 3.15 a.m. PT: European soccer body UEFA is the latest to weigh in on FIFA’s controversial decision to overturn U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun’s red card suspension.
In a remarkable message just posted to its site, UEFA tore into world soccer body FIFA, saying it had “crossed a red line” and described the move as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.” You can read the full statement below.
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Balogun received a straight red card for a tackle during the U.S.’s World Cup round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following reported White House lobbying for a review into the suspension, FIFA took the unprecedented step during a major tournament of suspending the red card for a year, meaning the striker can suit up for his country against Belgium in their round-of-16 clash later today.
The move, which has garnered significant media attention, has been met with shock and outrage in many quarters of the soccer world. Belgium has said it is exploring legal options, while multiple leading managers have condemned the decision, including England’s Thomas Tuchel and Norway’s Stale Solbakken.
The AP is among outlets to directly link the White House to the controversial decision to overturn the red card. President Trump is a close friend of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino who awarded the POTUS with the organization’s first Peace Prize. CBS News reports that there was a call between Trump and Infantino last week on the subject of Balogun’s ban. On Sunday, the U.S. President took to social media to praise FIFA’s u-turn.
Here’s the full UEFA statement:
“Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line.
“Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension.
“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. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.
“Football is the most loved sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure stand alone and, if the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole.
“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
