President Donald Trump has confirmed he asked Fifa to review United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension at the World Cup.
Trump says football’s world governing body “made the right decision” to suspend Balogun’s ban, adding it would have left a “big stain” on the tournament had it been implemented.
Balogun, 25, was set to be suspended for his side’s last-16 tie against Belgium on Tuesday after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.
But on Sunday, Fifa made the shock decision to suspend the automatic one-match ban for 12 months, freeing the way for the United States forward – who has scored three goals at this summer’s tournament – to be selected for the match in Seattle.
Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said he had asked Fifa to review the decision because he “didn’t think it was a foul”.
Although Trump confirmed he spoke to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, he said “all” he did was ask for a review and added that he did not tell the Swiss he had to suspend Balogun’s ban.
“I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled,” said Trump
“I think it [the suspension] would have left a big stain. I can’t tell them what to do. I don’t believe they made the decision; I believe it was the commission that made the decision. And it was the right decision.”
Trump said referee Raphael Claus’ decision to send off Balogun was “horrible” and called the Brazilian “a little bit suspect”.
Earlier on Monday, the Royal Belgian Football Association said it was “astonished” by Fifa’s decision to allow Balogun to be selected for the last-16 tie.
When asked for comment by BBC Sport about Trump’s overall comments, his view on Claus, Belgium’s claims and the appeal process, Fifa said it had “nothing more” to add “for now”.
