Belgium players mocked Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino in brutal locker room footage after sending the World Cup hosts crashing out, piling humiliation on the US president's unprecedented intervention to overturn a red card suspension.
Trump had confirmed he personally asked Fifa to review Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban, saying he spoke to Fifa president Gianni Infantino because he “didn’t think it was a foul”. The US striker, 25, had been shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic, putting him out of the last-16 tie against Belgium. But Fifa made the shock decision to suspend the automatic ban for 12 months, prompting fury from the Royal Belgian Football Association, which said it was “astonished” and “contests the eligibility” of Balogun to play. Uefa said the move left “the integrity of football at stake”.
“Belgium thrashed USA 4-0 after Trump's intervention to overturn Balogun's ban, sparking mockery and a FIFA crisis.”
Trump said Fifa “made the right decision”, calling referee Raphael Claus’s decision “horrible” and the Brazilian “a little bit suspect”. The Brazilian football confederation defended Claus, saying “there is nothing in his record that discredits him”. Infantino said he had told Trump there was “an ongoing legal process involving Fifa’s independent judicial bodies”. The Fifa appeal committee ruled Belgium was not an interested party. Trump insisted he only asked for a review: “I can’t tell them what to do. I don’t believe they made the decision; I believe it was the commission that made the decision.”
Balogun accepted the decision was “controversial” but said he played no part. US coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed disappointment at the “politics and manipulation” overshadowing the team’s exit. Belgium thrashed the hosts, and the mocking footage rubbed salt in the wound.
The affair has deepened questions about Infantino’s relationship with the White House. Trump had awarded Fifa’s inaugural Peace Prize last December, shortly before starting a war with tournament participant Iran. With Infantino set to exceed the usual 12-year term limit, frustration with Fifa is at an all-time high. “I don’t think the players are listened to that much,” said England striker Harry Kane.