{"id":818,"date":"2026-07-06T16:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T16:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=818"},"modified":"2026-07-06T16:41:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T16:41:02","slug":"fifa-accused-of-bowing-to-trump-after-lifting-us-players-red-card-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=818","title":{"rendered":"FIFA Accused of Bowing to Trump After Lifting US Player\u2019s Red Card Suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Read more Florida Bars Undocumented Students from State Colleges<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

FIFA, the international soccer organization that governs the World Cup, lifted a red card suspension for U.S. star player Folarin Balogun on Sunday after President Donald Trump intervened through an intense lobbying effort. <\/p>\n

Balogun\u2019s red card penalty against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week was itself questionable, with some commentators stating that the infraction he was called for did not warrant such a severe penalty. Nevertheless, the lifting of a red card sanction \u2014 which, in Balogun\u2019s case, carried with it a one-game suspension \u2014 is incredibly rare. The last time that FIFA lifted a red card during World Cup play was in 1962 (although the organizing body also lifted a red card last fall during the qualification phase, for Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo). <\/p>\n

In a statement, FIFA explained that:<\/p>\n

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In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year. If Folarin Balogun commits 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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

U.S. Men\u2019s team said it was \u201cpleased\u201d with the decision, but that their \u201cattention is focused on the round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle\u201d on Monday night. Belgium, meanwhile, said it was \u201castonished\u201d by the ban on the red card penalty, and that it was in \u201cdirect contradiction\u201d with tournament regulations. The team added that it was \u201cinvestigating all potential options\u201d against the move. <\/p>\n

The matter turned political when Trump celebrated the overturn in a Truth Social post. Shortly after, it was reported that his administration had played a role in the red card being overturned.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!\u201d Trump wrote online.<\/p>\n

Before the lifting of the red card penalty, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as well as Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup (and son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani), reportedly recruited lawyers to help present a case to FIFA to have the red card lifted. Trump himself made a phone call to Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, to appeal the ban. (Trump and Infantino are close friends, and Infantino presented Trump with FIFA\u2019s first ever \u201cpeace prize\u201d late last year, after Trump complained about losing the Nobel Peace Prize.)<\/p>\n

On Monday, Trump acknowledged that he was directly involved with the red card being overturned.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I did was ask for a review. I didn\u2019t say, \u2018You have to do this,’\u201d Trump said, downplaying reports about the White House recruiting lawyers. The president added that he \u201cdidn\u2019t think it was a foul\u201d to request the review.<\/p>\n

Days before the action, FIFA had previously stated that the penalty could not be reviewed. <\/p>\n

On Monday, UEFA, the European governing body for soccer, also questioned FIFA\u2019s decision to lift Balogun\u2019s red card. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,\u201d the organization said in a statement, adding that FIFA \u201ccrossed a red line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more US Leaders Know UAE Backs Massacres in Sudan. Stopping Them Would Be Too Costly.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined,\u201d UEFA said. <\/p>\n

Even U.S.-based commentators who are rooting for the country to win questioned the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the World Cup is fixed? Got it,\u201d political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann said in a Bluesky post. <\/p>\n

\u201cTrump has tainted\u201d the tournament, journalist Molly Ploofkins said, adding: \u201cLeave it to Trump to ruin the World Cup.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest scandals in World Cup history. Toxic Trump strikes again,\u201d foreign policy and political affairs commentator David Rothkopf said. <\/p>\n

Even former FIFA president Joseph Blatter weighed in on the matter, stating in a post on X that:<\/p>\n

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Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President \u2014 and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match \u2014 the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

FIFA has been unfair to other teams, too, appearing to exhibit a pro-U.S. bias in its treatment of the Iranian soccer game during the first round of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

In one glaring example, just days before Iran\u2019s first game was scheduled to take place, FIFA revoked the country\u2019s ability to issue tickets for its fans. The move came after many Iranian fans had already made plans to travel across the globe to attend the games. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s soccer federation blamed the U.S. for that decision, citing Trump\u2019s war against the country<\/p>\n

\u201cWith less than three days remaining until the start of the 2026 World Cup \u2026 the United States has once again acted to obstruct the presence of Iranian supporters at the stadiums hosting the national team\u2019s three group stage matches,\u201d a statement from the organization said at the time, adding:<\/p>\n

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Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries.<\/p>\n

Read more Incarcerated People Lose Treasured Media When Prisons Change Tablet Contracts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commentators said the lifting of Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card \u201ctainted\u201d the international soccer tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nFIFA Accused of Bowing to Trump After Lifting US Player\u2019s Red Card Suspension - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=818\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FIFA Accused of Bowing to Trump After Lifting US Player\u2019s Red Card Suspension - 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