"All I did was ask for a review." That's Donald Trump's version of events after he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to contest Folarin Balogun's red card — a call that would have kept the US striker out of Monday's last-16 clash against Belgium. FIFA reviewed it. Balogun played.
Belgium's football association said they were "astonished." The Royal Belgian FA complained publicly on Sunday. Trump, predictably, had no regrets.
The card, the call, the reinstatement
Balogun picked up his red card in controversial circumstances — the kind of collision where slow-motion replays do real damage to the original decision. Trump says he watched one of those replays, decided it was wrong, and picked up the phone. Whether you think that's presidential initiative or breathtaking overreach probably depends on where you're sitting.
Infantino reversed the ban. Balogun started. The US played Belgium with their first-choice attack intact.
Trump's framing was almost sporting in its logic: "If they would win the game with a player missing, it would have been a different feeling. You can't do that." Belgium, for what it's worth, might disagree with that particular reading of competitive fairness.
The media pile-on — and what it actually means
Washington Post opinion writer Kate Andrews went on MSNBC Monday morning arguing that even if the US advances, "a lot of people out there will feel like it was unfair." Her point being that overcoming bad calls is supposedly baked into the soul of the sport, and Trump's intervention short-circuits that.
She also noted that England received a questionable call against Mexico on Sunday, and Keir Starmer wasn't dialing Zurich about it. That's a fair comparison on paper, though it somewhat ignores that Starmer and Trump are operating in very different political universes.
The broader issue is real, even if the outrage is selective. FIFA's disciplinary process is supposed to be independent. A sitting head of state lobbying for a specific outcome — regardless of whether the original call was wrong — sets a precedent that's uncomfortable at best. Every nation with a phone and a grievance now has a template.
For US Soccer's credibility, Balogun now needs a big game against Belgium. A goal or an assist doesn't erase the noise, but it changes the conversation. Anything short of that and the storyline writes itself — and not in America's favor.
Belgium's odds shortened slightly after the reinstatement news broke in some markets, reflecting genuine uncertainty about a US side that's now back to full attacking strength. Whether that's the market responding to squad depth or the politics of the moment is genuinely hard to separate right now.
Trump's last word on Infantino: "His stock has gone through the roof." Infantino, for his part, said nothing publicly. He didn't need to.
