The World Cup is in turmoil after reports that Donald Trump personally intervened to put pressure on FIFA to overturn a match ban that would have meant striker Folarin Balogun would miss Tuesday’s knockout USA v Belgium match.
This stems from a red card Balogun received in the team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under FIFA rules, a player receiving a red card and being sent off by the referee means (as per USA Today), “he also sits out the team’s next match automatically, no matter what round it is.” Balogun’s red card was awarded by the match referee, and that decision was verified using VAR.
