White House produced dossier against Claus to reverse Balogun's suspension

With the aim of guaranteeing Folarin Balogun's participation in the round of 16 of the World Cup against Belgium, the White House coordinated an unprecedented legal and political operation, producing a dossier against the decision of Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, responsible for issuing the red card that would result in the automatic suspension of the American striker.

According to The Athletic, the sports arm of the New York Times, the Donald Trump administration has recruited lawyers in conjunction with the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) donor and investment fund manager, Scott Goodwin.

These legal materials were sent to the American federation and served as the basis for the set of documents submitted to FIFA to contest the striker's suspension following the red card received in the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the second phase of the competition.

Also according to the publication, Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, played a central role in working directly with the legal team and seeking constant updates from both FIFA and U.S. Soccer. The defense produced argued that the expulsion was unfair, focusing specifically on an alleged failure in the implementation of the VAR system.

The main allegation was that the refereeing relied excessively on frozen images and slow motion, which distorted the perception of the severity of the foul and led the field referee into error. Adding to the legal effort, Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask for a review of the automatic suspension.

In another publication, the New York Times stated that Goodwin brought to the attention of authorities linked to Trump public accusations that Claus was involved in manipulating results in Brazil, irregularly applying red cards. Brazilian authorities and FIFA found no evidence of wrongdoing by Claus, but Trump mentioned these allegations in his conversation with Infantino.

Balogun was sent off in the 2-0 victory over Bosnia after stepping on defender Tarik Muharemovic's right ankle in a ball challenge. The expulsion resulted in his automatic suspension for the round of 16 game against Belgium. The striker himself admitted to the press on Friday that he had to "accept" the red card.

This Sunday, FIFA issued a statement stating that Balogun would be available for the clash with Belgium, despite having received a red card in the previous match. The decision caused outrage at UEFA, which classified the decision as "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable".

The Royal Belgian Football Federation states that it received no response when demanding explanations regarding the athlete's release and had its appeal against the North American athlete's eligibility denied. The entity stated that, regardless of the result of the match, it will contest the player's lineup.

This Monday, Trump confirmed to reporters at the White House that he called Infantino to ask for a review of Balogun's automatic suspension. In his statement, the US president classified Claus as "suspicious".

"I saw the play, and I'm a person who loves sports... That wasn't a foul. Not even an infraction. This referee, who is a little suspicious if you check his background, made a call that no one could believe. He's our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn't even know what that meant. Yes, I asked for a review of FIFA," Trump said.

Minutes after Trump's statement, Infantino confirmed that he spoke with the President of the United States about the case, but reinforced that the decision rests exclusively with the entity's independent judicial bodies.

"Yes, I regularly discuss issues related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States and, on this topic, I received a call from President Donald Trump, as well as receiving calls from heads of state, government officials, football representatives and company executives on a variety of topics. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. This is how the FIFA system works and this is a principle I will always defend."

Uefa blasts FIFA for releasing Balogun for the World Cup: "He crossed a red line"

Source: CNN