What to know about Trump’s call with FIFA over Team USA’s red card

President Donald Trump spoke Monday in the Oval Office about the controversy over the reversal of a red card for a player on the United States men’s soccer team that is set to take on Belgium Monday evening in the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup.

Read more Silver linings: Is etiquette old-fashioned or still relevant today?

The game is set for 6 p.m. MDT and will be played at Lumen Field in Seattle. The U.S. is hosting the World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico.

The team’s top scorer, Falorin Balogun, received a red card in last week’s game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, which normally means he would have had to sit on the bench in the next game.

The penalty itself caused debate over whether the referee’s call was too harsh. The referee watched a video replay in slow motion before making the decision.

Trump reportedly called FIFA World Cup president Gianni Infantino on July 1, urging him to review the penalty. On Sunday, FIFA reversed Balogun’s suspension.

Here’s what to know:

Balogun’s red card creates debate

The U.S. team celebrated a 2-0 win, but players and fans were angry about the second-half red card. It brought into question whether other global stars, like Argentina’s Lionel Messi, have avoided a similar punishment.

The red card was debated over whether it should have been deemed an intentional tackle against the Bosnia player or an unintentional hard tackle.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said it was “never intentional.”

“If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that never was,” he said. “It was a normal action in football that you are fighting for the ball and your feet land.”

The call was criticized by Thierry Henry, a Fox Sports World Cup analyst. He said the referee needed to have common sense.

“Where is the player supposed to put his foot there in that situation?” he said.

Trump’s relationship with FIFA

The president has never claimed to be a soccer enthusiast, but since the World Cup came to North America, with games in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, he’s embraced the global phenomenon.

In August of last year, he announced that the World Cup draft would be hosted at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Infantino was beside him during the announcement in the Oval Office.

Infantino at the time presented Trump with the World Cup trophy, saying only “winners” are allowed to hold it.

The draw happened in December, which allowed teams to see who they would face off against in the tournament’s early stages. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also attended.

Infantino delivered remarks and presented Trump as the recipient of the World Cup peace prize. He said the award goes to an individual who has an “unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world.” Trump said the award was one of the “great honors” of his life.

Trump’s call to Infantino

The New York Times first reported that Trump had given Infantino a call after Balogun received the penalty.

Shortly after the game, Trump administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House task force on the World Cup, were engaging lawyers to help the U.S. Soccer Federation appeal the call to FIFA.

FIFA has rules against appeals. However, on Sunday it was announced that the organization reversed Balogun’s suspension and that he’d be eligible to play Monday’s match against Belgium.

They argued that the referee should not have used slow-motion video replay to determine the penalty.

Scott Goodwin, a hedge fund manager and major donor to the U.S. soccer team, told Trump officials that there are previous accusations against Raphael Claus, the referee, erroneously giving out red cards. FIFA hasn’t found evidence of that, but it’s something Trump brought up on the phone with Infantino, the Times reported.

Read more Deseret News archives: The first All-Star baseball game was a blast

The reversal is a major decision. The last time FIFA allowed a player to play in a game they otherwise would have been suspended from was in 1962.

What a red card means

Referees use yellow and red cards to enforce the rules of the game, keep the peace and enforce penalties.

Yellow cards serve as a warning to a player over their conduct. It’s a reminder to the player to proceed with caution for the rest of the game. Things like reckless tackles, arguing, wasting time or unsportsmanlike conduct are all things that could earn a player a yellow card. Earning two equates to a red and an automatic ejection from the game.

Referees use red cards for more serious offenses. Players can earn red cards for unsportsmanlike conduct, violent, abusive or offensive behavior, or insulting other players, among other serious offenses.

Players who receive red cards are ejected from the game for the rest of the game. Once ejected, the coach can’t replace them, meaning the team must play with one less man on the field. During the World Cup, they can’t play in the next game.

Belgium’s fury and response

The Belgium team was reportedly given the right to appeal FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s red card, Fox News reported.

The Royal Belgian Football Association, or RBFA, has requested a full explanation from FIFA over the decision, The Athletic reported.

“To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match,” the organization said.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked the decision, saying he didn’t know that in FIFA offices “the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe.” He was alluding to April Fools’ Day.

“The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision,” he said through a translator.

He declined to say whether he thought Trump impacted FIFA’s decision.

Trump addresses red card controversy Monday in the Oval Office

During a ceremony Monday morning in the Oval Office, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, thanked Trump for the call.

“On behalf of all Americans, thank you for getting rid of that ridiculous red card,” he said.

Trump remarked that it was “interesting.”

“There was a reason the FIFA trophy sat here for as long as it did,” Cruz replied.

Addressing the media, Trump also said he didn’t think it was a foul and he didn’t tell FIFA what to do and all he did was ask for them to review it again.

“I didn’t think it was a foul, I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled … that was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything, that would be different,” he said.

Trump went on to say that he didn’t tell Infantino what to do and believes that a committee made the decision to reverse the red card. He said had Balogun not been able to play, it would have been a “stain” on the team’s record, and with both teams having their best players on Monday evening, it will be a fair match.

“Let’s say we lost him and we lose the game, it would be a terrible thing. So, I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible,” Trump said.