World Cup Shocker as FIFA Caves to Trump After Phone Call
A single phone call may have altered the trajectory of the World Cup’s knockout stage. White House sources say President Donald Trump contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino directly, shortly before soccer’s global governing body took the extraordinary step of lifting a suspension against USA forward Folarin Balogun.
Balogun had received a red card during the Americans’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1.
Under FIFA’s own rulebook, that dismissal should have kept him off the field for the team’s next match. Instead, the striker will take the pitch Monday when the U.S. faces Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle.
News of the reversal reached the public through a celebratory post from Trump on Truth Social. “Thank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the president wrote.
Behind the scenes, the effort to overturn Balogun’s ban reportedly involved more than just a presidential phone call.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House task force head Andrew Giuliani are said to have joined forces on a legal team assembled to challenge the suspension on the striker’s behalf.
FIFA’s official explanation rested on Article 27 of its disciplinary code, a provision permitting the committee to suspend enforcement of a sanction during a probationary period.
The organization warned that a repeat offense within the next year would trigger enforcement of the original penalty “without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
That explanation did little to satisfy Belgium’s football federation.
The Royal Belgian Football Association fired back with a statement calling the decision “astonished”-inducing and pointing to a separate rule, Article 66.4, which mandates automatic suspensions following a red card.
Belgian officials also cited Article 10.5 of the tournament’s competition regulations, along with a circular sent to every participating federation back in May, both of which reinforce the same automatic-suspension standard.
Belgium’s federation has vowed to explore “all potential options,” including a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Federation president Pascale Van Damme, who also holds a seat on the FIFA Council, traveled to Seattle on Sunday as the dispute unfolded.
Head coach Rudi Garcia didn’t hide his frustration when addressing reporters. “I didn’t know that at the World Cup July 5th is now April 1st – April Fool’s Day. We’re defending football and its ethics,” Garcia said.
Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois struck a more measured tone, acknowledging the timing caught his squad off guard.
“Had it been done earlier, we’d maybe be able to be more prepared. But as players, nothing changes, we focus to win,” he said.
Rumors of a presidential intervention had actually begun swirling before FIFA made anything official.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy teased inside knowledge on X hours before the announcement, claiming his sources indicated the red card “may be soon overturned.”
Once the news broke, Portnoy posted a manipulated photo of himself alongside Trump, both sporting U.S. Soccer caps, coyly refusing to name his source. “A great journalist never reveals their sources. Sorry,” he wrote.
According to reports, U.S. Soccer’s legal argument leaned heavily on the referee’s reliance on slow-motion replay in issuing the original red card.
For its part, the U.S. Men’s National Team kept its statement brief: “We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow.”
Team manager Mauricio Pochettino was quick to distance himself from the appeal process, crediting the federation’s executives instead.
“JT and the whole federation were trying to defend our situation. I was not involved and focused on the team preparing for Belgium,” he said, referring to U.S. Soccer chief executive JT Batson.
Several players said they only learned about the reversal through social media, not official team channels. Defender Chris Richards described the uncertainty that followed.
“We weren’t quite sure if it was true or not… ultimately we found out through social media, so it was cool to finally get the confirmation that it was true,” he said.
Balogun himself had already spoken out about the red card days earlier, arguing the challenge wasn’t malicious.
“First and foremost, it was totally unintentional… I think a yellow card would have been fair due to it not being intentional,” he told reporters.
Teammate Christian Pulisic welcomed the outcome without hesitation. “We found out about it just coming over here, so yeah, at first you’re like, oh, really?… this is great news,” Pulisic said.
This isn’t the first time FIFA has leaned on its probationary clause during the tournament.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo benefited from the same rule after a violent conduct sending-off against the Republic of Ireland in November 2025.
Ronaldo sat out just one match before FIFA suspended the remainder of his ban, clearing him to captain Portugal from the tournament’s very first game.
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