In a surprising revelation that offered a glimpse into his understanding of football, Donald Trump admitted he didn’t know the basic rule of a red card after personally intervening with FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding a USMNT player’s suspended ban.
The 80-year-old former US President made a direct call to Infantino on Monday afternoon, seeking a review of an incident involving striker Folarin Balogun. Balogun had been dismissed in a previous USA World Cup game against Bosnia & Herzegovina, an event Trump claimed he didn’t believe constituted a foul.
Trump’s rationale and star player focus
Trump explained his reasoning for the call, stating he felt the incident was merely an entanglement between two athletes. “All I did was I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said, according to GiveMeSport. “Again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.”
His concern, he added, was the potential absence of a key player from the game. Trump emphasized the importance of top talent being on the pitch, even invoking some of football’s biggest names. “How would you feel if you took [Lionel] Messi, or [Cristiano] Ronaldo or Harry Kane out? You can’t do that,” he questioned, stressing the desire for both teams to field their best players for a fair contest.
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A surprising admission
Despite his conviction in the matter, Trump later confessed to a fundamental lack of knowledge regarding the sport’s disciplinary system. “I didn’t know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, ‘You gotta be kidding!'” he admitted.
Ultimately, an independent committee ruled that Balogun’s ban would be suspended until next year. While Trump suggested he didn’t believe Infantino personally made the decision, he praised the outcome, asserting that the committee “made the right decision because, number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.”
The committee’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban, however, sparked considerable outrage among football fans who questioned the precedent it set. The incident also brought renewed scrutiny to Donald Trump’s involvement and his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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