Trump says World Cup referee’s red card call was ‘horrible’ but insists he left outcome to FIFA

Trump says World Cup referee’s red card call was ‘horrible’ but insists he left outcome to FIFA 0 seconds of 1 minute, 56 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up FIFA lifts US star striker red card suspension at World Cup after Trump calls Infantino 01:00 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:56 01:56 More Videos 01:00 FIFA lifts US star striker red card suspension at World Cup after Trump calls Infantino 00:42 Venezuela's acting president defends government response to double earthquake 00:58 US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits 01:24 San Francisco turns red, white, and blue as US soccer fans arrive ahead of World Cup knockout 00:34 Maher jokes White House called his Mark Twain Prize "fake news" 00:55 AP Top Stories July 6 01:05 Trump points to George Washington to justify enriching his family 00:48 Trump hails US exceptionalism before veering into darkly political speech to usher in America 250 Close 1 of 7 | President Donald Trump said he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of the red card issued to U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun, arguing the collision wasn’t a foul and calling the referee “very suspect.” More Videos 0 seconds of 1 minute, 0Volume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Trump says he called FIFA president to review US red card: 'That wasn't a foul' 01:56 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% Auto180p1080p720p540p360p270p180p 00:00 01:00 01:00 More Videos Close 2 of 7 | Folarin Balogun received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension. U.S. President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino after the game asking FIFA review the red card, and then FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. (Produced by Luke Garratt) 3 of 7 | President Donald Trump speaks about FIFA after ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 4 of 7 | President Donald Trump smiles after ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 5 of 7 | President Donald Trump smiles after ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 6 of 7 | President Donald Trump speaks about FIFA after ringing the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) 7 of 7 | President Donald Trump holds up a red card during a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) By COLLIN BINKLEY and SEUNG MIN KIM Updated 7:17 PM MESZ, July 6, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for getting FIFA to review a red card issued against the United States’ star forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup but said he did not demand an outcome. “All I did was ask for a review,” Trump said when asked about it during an unrelated Oval Office event. “I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this.’” Trump confirmed that he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked for a second look at the punishment against Balogun in the United States’ 2-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina last week in Santa Clara, California, near San Francisco. But he said FIFA made the final call to lift Balogun’s mandatory one-game ban for a foul tackle, allowing him to play in Monday’s round of 16 match with Belgium in Seattle. FIFA’s decision to suspend the one-game ban was celebrated by many in the United States but brought condemnation in the international sports world, where some called it an outrageous intrusion. The Belgian soccer federation is challenging Balogun’s eligibility for Monday’s match, and the UEFA soccer body in Europe called FIFA’s move “incomprehensible and unjustifiable.” undefined AP AUDIO: Trump says World Cup referee’s red card call was ‘horrible’ but insists he left outcome to FIFA AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports President Trump responds to questions about a U.S. red card reversal at the World Cup. Photos of Balogun’s red-card foul at center of FIFA controversy to lift US striker’s suspension 1 MIN READ FIFA’s Infantino says he told Trump the Balogun case would be decided by independent judicial bodies 1 MIN READ What to know after FIFA lifts suspension of US star Folarin Balogun 5 MIN READ 65 Trump criticizes the referee’s red card call In remarks on Monday, Trump called the referee’s decision a “horrible” call. He added that it would have been a stain on the tournament if Balogun, the U.S.’ leading scorer at this year’s World Cup with three goals, was held out against Belgium and the U.S. lost. He praised FIFA for making what he described as a brilliant decision in suspending the punishment. “I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said. “I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.” The Republican president, who said he understands sports “really well,” acknowledged that he did not initially know what a red card is or the consequences it brings. When he learned it would lead to a one-game suspension for Balogun, he said, he decided to step in. He also took issue with the use of video review to issue the red card, arguing that slowed-down reviews can make plays look more aggressive. “Belgium has got a great team,” Trump said. “We have to have our best players, and they have to have their best. And if we win or we lose, it’s fair.” Soon after Trump addressed the controversy, Infantino issued a statement detailing his call with Trump and defending the independence of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. “During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies,” Infantino said in a statement on X. “That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.” Trump’s Oval Office event focused on new investment accounts for U.S. children, and he immediately sought to deflect attention away from the World Cup controversy. “They don’t want to know anything about soccer slash football,” he said of reporters gathered in the Oval Office. “Fortunately, they won’t be asking any questions on that. Nobody cares about that, right?” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who joined Trump at the event, turned attention back to the red card. “On behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card,” Cruz said during his remarks. “It was spectacular.” Pressed on the extent of his role, Trump said that he made his case to Infantino but that “I didn’t tell him what to do, I can’t tell him what to do.” Separately on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was the right decision to lift the punishment for Balogun. In rare comments during a photo op ahead of his meeting with Chile’s foreign minister, Rubio questioned why Belgium would want to win a match “if everyone will argue you didn’t really win it because their best, or their leading, scorer was not on the pitch.” He joked that it was becoming an “international incident” ahead of a NATO summit in Turkey this week. The foul against Balogun was called after he planted his cleated foot on the ankle of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic during their round of 32 match. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn’t initially signal a card, but a slow-motion review resulted in the red card. Balogun later said he thought a yellow card, a formal warning, would have been fair. FIFA’s decision drew quick rebuke on Sunday from Belgium coach Rudi Garcia, who said it sounded like an April Fools’ Day joke. Meanwhile U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino applauded FIFA’s move, saying his team was punished enough by losing Balogun for the remainder of last week’s game. As the drama played out on the pitch last week, it was immediately clear from the perspective of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House FIFA Task Force leader Andrew Giuliani and Trump administration officials that the process used to issue the red card to Balogun was improper. Discussions over the red card and what to do about it dominated the flight from Santa Clara back to Washington. The consensus of the group, according to a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the talks, was simply: that the slo-mo replay was improper, so shouldn’t the red card be nullified? The next day, Trump officials continued to dig into the rules, consult lawyers and speak with U.S. Soccer about the matter, according to the official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump was also briefed on updates as he prepared to speak with Infantino, whom the U.S. president has talked with multiple times a week since the World Cup, which is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, began June 11. Kim reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press photographer Manny Ceneta contributed from Washington. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the White House and education policy for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington and joined the AP in 2015. twitter mailto SEUNG MIN KIM Kim covers the White House for The Associated Press. She joined the AP in 2022 and is based in Washington. Kim is also a political analyst for CNN. twitter mailto