Many journalists, political correspondents and pundits have expressed outrage that President Donald Trump pressed FIFA on the plight of USA World Cup star Folarin Balogun ahead of Monday’s showdown with Belgium.
Balogun received a red card during the U.S. win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week for stepping on the ankle of a defender while trying to corral a ball. The controversial card — which mandated Balogun miss the rest of the game and the next game as well — was issued after a VAR review, and amid the uproar, a source told Fox News that Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked that FIFA review the play. On Sunday, the reversal was announced and the typical one-game suspension was nullified.
Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik and White House task force leader Andrew Giuliani put together a team of lawyers outside the White House to challenge the use of slow-motion replay to give Balogun the red card, according to OutKick founder and Fox News contributor Clay Travis.
Infantino said in a statement Monday that he spoke with Trump and noted that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent” and “operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.” The media onslaught was at full tilt by then, however.
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“Morning Joe” co-host Jon Lemire expressed concern that “karma” would come back to haunt the United States team.
“This certainly helps the U.S. on the field, but the karma is bad. The karma is very bad… This U.S. run so far has been magical. This decision may help us extend it, but suddenly the feeling is a little bit off,” Lemire said.
“I think the president has misunderstood the beautiful game, part of it is that you don’t always get the call you want. There’s real disappointment. There’s the hope that kills you. This is part of the beauty of soccer. And the point is that you have to triumph over what are often perceived to be unfair calls,” Washington Post columnist Kate Andrews said on MS NOW.
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann responded, “So the World Cup is fixed? Got it.”
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“Totally normal and not corrupt or dodgy or biased at all,” journalist Mehdi Hasan sarcastically wrote to caption a report that Trump called Infantino.
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof declared, “This will appear to the world as favoritism and as FIFA bowing to political influence. If the U.S. wins, I fear that much of the world will see it as a win with an asterisk and as Trump’s America making its own rules even in the sports world.”
ABC News contributor Donna Brazile wrote, “Terrible decision to involve the White House into this. Just horrible.”
Others focused on Balogun being a birthright citizen.
“The irony of Trump calling FIFA to overturn a red card for Balogun because he knows the U.S. can’t win without Balogun, who only qualifies for the U.S. team because of birthright citizenship, which Trump just tried to overturn,” journalist Julia Loffe wrote.
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Radio host Courtney Theriault added, “Donald Trump calling FIFA to overturn the suspension of noted birthright citizen Folarin Balogun the same week SCOTUS rules against him on eliminating birthright citizenship is peak Trump.”
“Possible corruption and cheating aside, hilarious that the Trump administration were allegedly pushing hard to reinstate a player who is a literal birthright citizen. His pregnant mother gave birth to him on a visit because the airline wouldn’t let her board her return flight,” Hasan wrote.
Many others took to social media with thoughts:
Trump told reporters Monday he didn’t tell FIFA to do anything and said he didn’t believe the red card was the proper call.
“I didn’t tell him what to do. I don’t believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because, No. 1, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players,” he said.
A win on Monday would send the U.S. to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.
Fox News Digital’s Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
