FIFA 2026 | 'We want fair play': US FIFA task force chief defends Trump calling Infantino in Balogun red card case
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "FIFA 2026 | 'We want fair play': US FIFA task force chief defends Trump calling Infantino in Balogun red card case")
US FIFA task force chief defends Trump's call in Balogun red card case Photograph: (AFP)
The red card ban of one match was eventually taken down by FIFA ahead of USA vs Belgium Round of 16 clash, but the co-hosts lost the match. Trump himself confirmed calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino, though he insists he "can't tell him what to do."
Andrew Giuliani, the co-host USA's FIFA task force head, has defended US president Donald Trump lobbying the global sports body for suspension of USNMT player Folarin Balogun's red card. The red card ban of one match was eventually taken down by FIFA ahead of USA vs Belgium Round of 16 clash, but the co-hosts lost the match. Giuliani said discussions on how to help US Soccer appeal began right after Balogun's ejection, working alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trump himself confirmed calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino, though he insists he "can't tell him what to do." Critics, including UEFA, remain unconvinced the process stayed clean
US FIFA Task Force chief defends Trump action over Balogun red card
Talking to the mediat at Foreign Press Center in Washington DC, Giuliani said: “We found it highly suspicious that there was a referee who had been investigated for match-fixing previously, and specifically for irregular red cards, issuing irregular red cards.”
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US FIFA task force chief defends Trump's call in Balogun red card case Photograph: (AFP)
Giuliani's comments referred to Brazil senate's investigation into match-fixing and how referee's are assigned in 2024. The probe, however, did not accuse refree Raphael Claus of any wrongdoing.
"When you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how the VAR was initiated there. Contact fouls, you cannot actually utilise the slow-motion in the VAR, and they did that. So when you add those two facts together there, we found [that] it was very, very highly suspicious.
He added: "Look, the US government, whether it’s at the ballot box or whether it’s on the playing field, we want fair play, all right? And so for us, we thought that was very suspicious, to say the least, just like most Americans, I think just like most people who took an unbiased view of this. And we’re happy that US Soccer was able to file the appeal, and that we think the correct result was achieved."
How the whole incident turned out?
FIFA, surprisingly, took down the red card suspension on Balogun ahead of USA's all-important Round of 16 match against Belgium. Later on, Trump confirmed talking to FIFA chief Gianni Infantino about the same and Infantino confirmed the call as well but insisted that the decision was taken by an independent committee.
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