US media: Trump pressures FIFA, red card punishment for US team's top scorer suspended

Golden Finance reports: On July 6, according to The New York Times, three people with knowledge of the matter said that U.S. President Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino on July 1 local time, asking him to re-review the red-card suspension imposed on U.S. team striker Balogun during the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Balogun was shown a red card in the Round of 32 match that day, when the U.S. team defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0, after stepping on an opponent’s foot.

On July 5, FIFA announced that, for violating Articles 14 and 66 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee imposed a one-match suspension on Balogun. Meanwhile, under Article 27 of the Code, the Disciplinary Committee has the authority to fully or partially suspend a disciplinary sanction, and the suspension for Balogun was determined to be deferred for one year. This means he will be eligible to play in the match against Belgium on Monday local time. This is the first time since 1962 that FIFA has allowed a player who would otherwise have been suspended to continue playing.

Trump welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play on his social media platform, but did not mention that he had called Infantino, nor did he attribute the decision to himself.