2026 World Cup: How Trump forced FIFA to overturn Balogun’s red card

President Trump called FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, on Wednesday and asked him to review the suspension of the United States’ top goal scorer, Folarin Balogun at the 2026 World Cup.

Balogun was shown a red card in their game that night against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the New York Times, people familiar with the conversation between Trump and Infantino, claim the American president asked for the one-match ban to be overturned.

On Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun would be eligible to play against Belgium in their last-32 clash.

The reversal is highly unusual and the first time since 1962 that FIFA has allowed a player to appear in a game when they would have been suspended.

It also comes as Infantino has spent years trying to curry favor with Trump.

Last year, FIFA created and handed Trump the FIFA Peace Prize amid the president’s public, but failed, campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize.