In the end, it had no sporting impact because Belgium also beat the USA convincingly 4–1 with Folarin Balogun. But the debate over FIFA’s intervention in the striker’s suspension after his red card will likely continue for quite some time. Even more bizarre is the role US President Donald Trump is said to have played in the matter. Both FIFA boss Infantino and Trump himself confirmed a phone call that had taken place before the World Cup round-of-16 match. It was supposedly only about the desired review of the suspension.
After the U-turn, Trump thanked FIFA on Truth Social for correcting a “great injustice.” At a press conference before the match, Trump also revealed further details of the conversation with Infantino. And they are nothing less than the peak of a grotesque attempt at an explanation.
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His preface: “I’m someone who loves sports and was a good athlete. And I really understand sports well.” What followed, however, was an absurd confession: “I didn’t know what a red card was. When I found out, I said, you’ve got to be kidding. This guy just raises his hand and says your best player won’t play in the next game. I said, wow, that’s a lot of power. That’s terrible,” Trump recounted theatrically.
And that was not the end of Trump’s truly strange appearance. The US president also leveled accusations against the referee of the round-of-32 match, Raphael Claus: “This referee, who is a little suspicious if you look into his past, made a decision that nobody could believe.” However, he did not even provide a justification for that claim.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
