U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked a political and sports storm after publicly admitting that he had personally contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino to overturn the expulsion granted to his country's striker Volarin Balogun, in a move described by European football institutions as a dangerous crossing of red lines and a direct threat to the integrity of the game.
Direct intervention... Ignorance of the rules
Trump considered that he understood the sport well, before admitting that he did not know the meaning of a red card and did not realize that it prevents a player from playing the next match, and despite this declared ignorance, he attacked Brazilian referee Rafael Klaus, calling him "very suspicious" and threatening that he was able to "provide records of the referee."
Trump said in remarks to reporters inside the White House that he understands the sport well, claiming that the mistake made by Palogun did not deserve to be counted as a mistake in the first place, as well as showing a red card in his face.
"The referee is very suspicious," he continued, adding that "I don't like to say something controversial, but I can provide records about the referee, our player did nothing wrong, and they gave him a red card."
"I didn't know that this (expulsion) meant you couldn't play the next game, to lose our most important player because of a red card was unfair, that's why I asked FIFA to review it," he said.
"The fans want to watch the game with their best players. Imagine if we ruled out Messi, Ronaldo or Harry Kane because they collided with another player, it wouldn't be good for the tournament."
FIFA is backing down
Earlier, FIFA announced that American striker Volarin Balogun will be available to participate in the World Cup Round of 16 match against Belgium, despite being sent off in the match in which his team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the previous round.
Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup in the 2-0 win, but received a red card in the second half for kicking Bosnian player Tarik Muhramovic's ankle, forcing the U.S. team to play the rest of the game with 10 men.
The 25-year-old was sent off only after reviewing the VAR technique, and U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said the foul did not deserve a red card at all.
"In accordance with Article 27 of FIFA's Disciplinary Code, the implementation of the suspension from (participating) matches has been suspended for one year under probation," FIFA said.
"If Folarin Balogun commits another offence of a similar nature and severity to the first offence during the probationary period, the suspension will be cancelled and the penalty will be enforced without prejudice to any additional penalty imposed due to the new offence," he said, adding that FIFA's disciplinary committee has the discretion to suspend the disciplinary sanction in whole or in part.
UEFA explodes in anger
FIFA's decision to suspend Balogun's probationary suspension for a year without revoking the red card appeared to be an attempt at a legal circumvention to mitigate the impact of political interference but sparked unprecedented European anger.
UEFA criticised FIFA's decision to suspendPalou Gunn after Trump contacted FIFA to ask it to reconsider the case, saying FIFA had "crossed a red line" and undermined the integrity of the game.
"We express our surprise at this unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustified decision," UEFA said, adding that "when the finality of the rules is no longer guaranteed by its protectors, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of the tournament is undermined," in a rare public criticism of an institutional rift between the world's two biggest football bodies.
Klopp: "A complete madness puts everything in doubt"
Germany's new coach Jurgen Klopp, who is known for his candor, said the Trump-Infantino deal was "a crazy thing that puts everything in doubt", adding that "these two people who know nothing about football should have no role in this".
The Belgian federation filed a formal appeal against FIFA's decision, considering that the cancellation of the suspension is illegal, especially since the player committed a clear violation after reviewing the video technology.
Belgium will face the United States tomorrow morning (03:00) for the round of 16 of the World Cup, which has been ongoing since 11 last month in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
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