Trump admits that he asked FIFA to review the red card and criticizes Brazilian referee: 'A little suspicious' The Donald Trump government's attempt to reverse the suspension of striker Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup included the circulation, within the White House, of unproven accusations against Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, according to a report published by The New York Times. ? ??After the game between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, FIFA lifted the suspension of Balogun, who will be able to play against Belgium this Monday (6). After the annulment, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed that he asked FIFA to review the red card given to Balogun. (Learn more below). According to the newspaper, Scott Goodwin, fund manager and one of the main donors to the United States Football Federation (U.S. Soccer), presented public accusations to members of the North American government that Claus had participated in match-fixing schemes in Brazil through the irregular application of red cards. The report highlights, however, that the Brazilian authorities and FIFA did not find any evidence of irregularity involving the Brazilian referee. Even so, according to sources heard by the NYT, Donald Trump mentioned these allegations during the telephone conversation with Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, held after Balogun's expulsion in the United States' victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Learn more about the link below). In addition to the accusations, the newspaper also states that senior members of the White House, including Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup task force, mobilized lawyers to help U.S. Soccer try to appeal the suspension, despite FIFA rules not providing for appeals for red cards of this type. According to the publication, a memo prepared by lawyers linked to Trump sought to identify loopholes in the FIFA Disciplinary Code to support a challenge to the punishment and even suggested the possibility of invoking the rights of the United States as a nation and threatening to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Trump received accusations without evidence against Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, says NYT Montagem/g1 READ MORE: See what Trump said about the red card and the Brazilian referee After Trump called Raphael Claus a 'suspicious', CBF defends the Brazilian referee Punishment revoked Balogun, the US player received a red card from Claus after a play reviewed by the VAR. After the game, Trump took to social media to complain about the card. After the revocation, he congratulated the entity. "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right and reversing a great injustice!", published the president. According to an explanation published by ge, FIFA's decision to cancel the effects of the card was taken based on a specific article of the entity's Disciplinary Code. The article in question was 27 and provides that the "judicial body may totally or partially suspend the application of a disciplinary measure." Article 27 is titled "Suspension of the implementation of disciplinary measures". See what he says: The judicial body may decide to suspend, in whole or in part, the execution of a disciplinary measure. When suspending the application of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the sanctioned person to a period of probation of one to four years. If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infraction of a similar nature and gravity during the probation period, the suspension will be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction executed, without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed by the new infraction. Disciplinary measures related to match manipulation cannot be suspended. The entity's statement on the American player's case states that "if Folarin Balogun commits another infraction of a similar nature and severity during the probationary period (of one year, in his case), the suspension will be revoked and the sanction applied, without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed by the new infraction". Belgium, the USA's next opponent, challenged the decision, but had its appeal rejected. Earlier, the European Union and UEFA also criticized FIFA for canceling the player's card following Trump's request. Infantino confirms Trump's call FIFA president Gianni Infantino also confirmed this Monday (6) that he spoke to Trump about the red card. "I regularly speak with the President of the United States about World Cup matters, and in fact received a call from President Donald Trump," he said in a statement. However, Infantino claimed that the sports entity's judicial bodies are independent and autonomous: "Their independence is essential for the credibility and integrity of football, and must always be respected." The FIFA president said he told Trump that "the case [of the red card] would be decided in due course by the competent authorities" "I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are published. Sometimes they surprise me. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree. What I always do, however, is respect these decisions and the independence of the bodies that make them", he stated.