Trump urged FIFA to lift Folarin Balogun’s suspension from the World Cup match against Belgium | USA

President Donald Trump has urged FIFA to lift the one-match suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun for the red card he received during the team’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, ahead of Sunday’s surprise announcement that he will be in attendance for the nurses’ Last 16 match against Belgium in Seattle on Monday night.

Sources told the Guardian that Trump made three calls to Fifa, starting on Wednesday last week, to ensure that the change was made.

The decision gives the US a big boost on the field as they try to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 2002. Balogun has been a threat for the US so far this tournament, and has scored three goals in three starts.

Fifa has been contacted for comment. Donald Trump thanked the world governing body for suspending the red card. “Thank you to Fifa for doing the right thing, and reversing a great injustice!” President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Fifa’s disciplinary committee said it made the decision in accordance with Article 27 of Fifa’s disciplinary law, which allows it to suspend red cards as long as the punishment is not match-fixing. Balogun will be on probation for one year, meaning the red card remains on his record. If, during that year, Balogun commits what the code refers to as “another violation of a similar nature and gravity”, the striker will serve a one-game ban.

Earlier, Fifa used Article 27 to clear Cristiano Ronaldo from starting Portugal’s World Cup opener after his red card against the Republic of Ireland.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said in a statement that it was “surprised” by the decision. The RBFA later pointed out that the lifting of the ban was in breach of Fifa’s rules governing the punishment of red cards, which carry an “automatic” one-match ban. The RBFA said it was “investigating all possible avenues”.

A spokesperson for American football on Sunday said that the federation was busy with the plan that ended up removing Balogun from the last 16 game.

The American players said they received news of Balogun’s discovery on the team’s bus while going to practice.

“Some guys were playing Clash Royale, some guys were in the back listening to music, and they thought that in between, we heard all the reports,” said defender Chris Richards. “My family probably sent me eight tweets. I wasn’t sure, no one told us ahead of time that this was happening. We weren’t sure if it was true or not. I think everyone knows about AI and with this, there might be a few question marks, but we finally found out through social media. It was really nice to finally get confirmation that it’s true.”

Richards said about 10 minutes passed between the time the US players first received reports of Balogun’s discovery, and receiving official confirmation from US soccer officials when they got off the practice bus on Sunday – the last time before the all-important Belgium game.

“He’s playing Mr. Cool right now,” Richards said of Balogun’s reaction to the news. “We’re looking to Flo to lead the way, and he’s done it very well so far throughout the tournament, so I think we’re very pleased and happy that that was overturned … they obviously saw something in the decision that they thought should be changed.”

Richards, Christian Pulisic and Alex Freeman all said that Balogun’s suspension had little effect on the team’s preparation or training ahead of the Belgium game, and that the team was willing to go without him.

“We accept the decision of the disciplinary committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is fit to compete tomorrow,” US Soccer said in a statement.

Balogun was sent off for a seemingly harmless collision with Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the last 32 match on Wednesday. No foul was initially called, but the video assistant referee recommended a review after noticing that Balogun stepped on the defender’s ankle. After reviewing the incident, the referee gave Balogun a red card for his violent behavior.

This decision shocked analysts and American players and the coaching staff, all saying that this was not intentional.

“It feels right,” Pulisic said of Balogun’s suspension. “I felt that Balo handled it well, and I think the team handled it well. [out of it]. You have to treat it in a positive way, and you know, good things happen to people like that. “

Fifa and US Soccer officials said at the time that the one-game suspension that comes with the red card will not be appealed.

On Friday, Balogun said the experience was “surreal”. He was praised for his reaction to a red card that was deemed harsh.

“I don’t want to react out of anger and emotions,” said Balogun. “There are still many people we encourage, young children, boys and girls who watch, and we have to show them the right way to handle things, even if you think it’s wrong.”