See what Trump said about the red card and the Brazilian referee

Trump admits that he asked FIFA to review the red card
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed this Monday (6) that he asked FIFA to review the red card given to United States player Folarin Balogun, during the North American team's last match in the World Cup, against Bosnia Herzegovina.
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Asked about the topic at a press conference in the Hall Oval of the White House, Trump said that he did not consider the foul awarded by the "horrible" referee to be fair and refuted the accusations of political interference in the competition.
The referee of the match was Brazilian Raphael Claus.
After reviewing the move with VAR, Claus sent off Balogun in the 18th minute of the final stage. The attacker received a red card for stepping on Muharemovic's ankle.
Read the transcript of Trump's response below:
"That wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. It was two guys running at top speed who happened to bump into each other. You can't put your foot exactly on someone else's foot when you're running at top speed. No, they were two great athletes who got tangled up.
And this referee, who is a little suspicious - if you check his background. I don't want to say this because I don't like to create controversy, but very suspicious. If you want, I'll give you his background.
I watched the game, no one had to ask me to watch it. I told Gianni that they are broadcasting a lot of games here, even in a country where, let's face it, this is not the main sport.
And the success has been huge. I was told that the audience was four times higher than expected. between 50 and 60 million people will watch tonight's game. This is already reaching Super Bowl numbers.
There's a game tonight and the projection is for at least 50 million viewers. We call it 'soccer', but we can't just call it 'football', because that ends up causing confusion. nothing like that. I watched the match and I'm a person who really likes sports. I was a good athlete and I understand sport very well, very well indeed.
He [the player] didn't do anything wrong, and he's our best player, or one of our best players - a very vital player - and they gave him a red card. I didn't think it meant much. "Wow, that's a big..." You know, if it had happened to another player, it would have been unfair, but when they take away your best player - or almost so; they have some great players - and say you can't play, that's very unfair.
It's one thing to penalize someone for the [current] game."
Folarin is very unfair. Balogun, from the USA, receives a red card from referee Raphael Claus.
Phil Noble / Reuters
Belgium will contest the decision
Earlier, Belgium, which faces the United States this Monday (6) for a place in the quarter-finals, demanded explanations from FIFA for revoking the red card.
In a statement, the Belgian Football Federation stated that it has not yet received "neither FIFA's decision nor any explanation regarding this case". According to the entity, "in these circumstances, there is no other option but to challenge the player's eligibility for the next match."
The Belgians argue that "Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (expulsion) automatically results in suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case with all previous red cards issued during this World Cup."
Belgium's football governing body also pointed out that the striker's release directly contravenes Article 10.5 of the 2026 World Cup Regulations, reinforcing that the punishment should be automatic. According to the Belgians, this rule was reaffirmed by FIFA in circulars and official meetings before each match of the tournament.
Under the claim of protecting the fundamental principles of "fair play" and the rights of the participating teams, the Belgian federation informed that it is already investigating all potential options in the case.
Earlier, the European Union and UEFA also criticized FIFA for canceling the player's card after Trump's request.
Decision celebrated by Trump and coach of the USA
President of the United States, Donald Trump, and President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, pose for a photo with the World Cup trophy in the Oval Office, at the White House. Photo from August 2025.
Disclosure/Casa Branca
On Sunday (5), Trump had already congratulated FIFA for canceling the card:
"Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!", published the president.
During a press conference also on Sunday, the coach of the North American team, Mauricio Pochettino, celebrated the decision.
"We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina by playing with one less for 30 minutes, in a completely unfair decision. And not just because I am the coach of the United States team and I need to defend my side. It's because I believe that 99.9% of people agree that that red card was unfair," said the coach Argentine.
Folarin Balogun, from the USA, during a game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Phil Noble / Reuters

Source: G1