NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump he said he personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the red card and one-game suspension handed out to Team USA player Folarin Balogun, a move that has sparked controversy at the FIFA World Cup, according to CNN.FIFA later announced that Balogun would be eligible to play in the round of 16 clash against Belgium after lifting his suspension, a decision that sparked political controversy and raised questions about the integrity of the tournament. “All I did was ask for a review. I didn’t say, ‘You have to do this,'” Trump said from the Oval Office, as CNN reported, adding that he “didn’t think it was offensive.” “I didn’t tell him what to do, I can’t tell him what to do,” he said, adding that the independent committee “made the right decision.”Balogun, the tournament’s top American scorer with three goals, was red-carded for a hard step on the right knee of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic in Wednesday’s 2-0 32-yard win, prompting a one-game suspension.FIFA announced on Sunday that the 16-match ban had been lifted, a surprise move that drew praise from Trump and anger from the Belgian team. “Thank you to FIFA for doing good, and ending a great injustice!” Trump later said in a statement on social media.The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “shocked” and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia criticized FIFA’s actions.“I didn’t know that in the FIFA offices the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said through an interpreter in an April Fools’ Day simulation. “The Belgian organization does not defend itself, it does not defend the national team. He protects the whole ball, he protects his integrity, his morals. I think it is the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is such a decision. “FIFA said its decision is based on Article 27 of the disciplinary committee rules.“The judicial body may decide to suspend in whole or in part the implementation of the disciplinary process,” the law says. “By suspending the implementation of the punishment, the judicial body will give the person the right to a probation period of one to four years.”
