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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
Sport

Trump intervention sparks World Cup storm as Fifa clears Balogun to face Belgium

Fifa Folarin Balogun Donald Trump Gianni Infantino World Cup Belgium United States Christian Pulisic Mauricio Pochettino RBFA
US President Donald Trump holds the Fifa World Cup Trophy, as Fifa president Gianni Infantino stands next to him, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Aug 22, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

WASHINGTON/SEATTLE - The United States’ World Cup campaign ​took an extraordinary turn on Sunday when Fifa made the unprecedented decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s automatic red-card ‌ban, clearing the striker to face Belgium in Monday's last-16 clash after US President Donald Trump personally urged Fifa President Gianni Infantino to review the case.

The move thrust Fifa’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight, prompted an angry response from Belgium and ensured that one of this tournament’s biggest talking points would centre not on tactics or team selection, but on the relationship between football’s governing body and political power.

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