Details of the phone call that Donald Trump made to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in an effort to get Folarin Balogun’s World Cup ban lifted have emerged.
The USA striker, who has scored three goals at the tournament, was dismissed during the second half of the co-hosts’ 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but on Sunday the FIFA Disciplinary Committee announced it would suspend Balogun’s one-match ban by a probationary period of one year.
While Mauricio Pochettino will now benefit from an unprecedented U-turn that will allow him to select one of his main attacking weapons, USA’s last 16 opponents Belgium are justifiably furious.
Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia likened the ruling to ‘April Fool’s Day’ and insisted his federation, who may yet appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was ‘defending football’.
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Trump and Infantino’s relationship has been under scrutiny ever since the American president was handed the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize back in December.
Having kept a relatively low-profile during the tournament thus far, Trump appears to have wielded his considerable influence and pressured FIFA into temporarily lifting Balogun’s one-game ban.
According to talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs, it was communicated directly to the Infantino that Trump felt the punishment was unjust, whileother White House figures are also understood to have lobbied football’s world governing body.
‘The President and Infantino did speak, and the President wanted to better understand the reason why a red card was given and why there was a suspension,’ a US official confirmed.
‘The appeal process is run by an independent board. The US government provided additional evidence that was used in the appeal process.’
According to FIFA’s disciplinary code, meanwhile, should Balogun commit ‘another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement’.
The RBFA claimed the decision was in violation of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, also citing a separate section of the governing body’s disciplinary code.
It added: ‘“’In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.’
Pochettino said he ‘wasn’t involved’ in the decision, and ‘found out today before training’, claiming he ‘didn’t have time’ to see President Trump’s remarks on social media but that his federation was ‘working really hard and trying to defend our situation’.
He added: ‘My reaction is like everyone. I really love the sport, and trust the ethic and integrity. I think we all celebrate that decision.’
Asked about President Trump’s rumoured involvement, the former Tottenham boss insisted: ‘You cannot mix that. It is a decision from FIFA.’
With the integrity of the competition now under the microscope, Gary Neville branded FIFA’s decision as shameful and hinted US soccer chiefs could urge Pochettino to leave Balogun on the bench but that suggestion was dismissed by his fellow ITV pundit Ian Wright.
‘I’m not sure if they’ve got the balls to do that [not play Balogun anyway],’ he said. ‘They are not going to do that with Trump.
‘They can’t embarrass him like that. If he’s involved in it. There’s no way they are going to do that.’