Giuliani backs Trump’s red-card push
The controversy over Folarin Balogun’s red card has followed the United States beyond their World Cup exit.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House taskforce for the 2026 World Cup, has defended Donald Trump’s decision to lobby FIFA after the US striker was sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to The Guardian’s report on Giuliani’s briefing, Trump had questioned Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after the incident, describing him as “a little bit suspect, if you check his past.”
The comment referred to a 2024 Brazilian senate investigation into how referees were assigned to matches. Claus gave testimony in that process, but was not accused of wrongdoing.
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Giuliani nevertheless argued that the circumstances around the decision were troubling.
“We found it highly suspicious that there was a referee who had been investigated for match-fixing previously, and specifically for irregular red cards, issuing irregular red cards,” Giuliani said.
He added: “And then when you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how the VAR was initiated there. Contact fouls, you cannot actually utilise the slow-motion in the VAR, and they did that. So when you add those two facts together there, we found that it was very, very highly suspicious.”
VAR claim is more complicated
Giuliani’s defence also centred on the use of slow-motion replays.
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His argument was that VAR had been misapplied in Balogun’s case, but the official protocol is more nuanced than that.
According to IFAB’s official VAR protocol, slow-motion replays may be used for factual elements, including the point of contact in physical offences. Normal speed should be used to judge the intensity of a challenge.
That does not settle whether the original decision was correct, but it does show that the claim that slow motion cannot be used for contact fouls is too simple.
FIFA later suspended Balogun’s red-card ban, meaning he was available for the last-16 match against Belgium.
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FIFA stands by Claus
The decision to clear Balogun did not end the dispute around Claus.
According to Reuters, republished by The Star, FIFA defended the Brazilian referee after Trump’s comments placed his integrity under scrutiny.
“FIFA recognises Raphael Claus as one of the world’s leading professional referees and a valued member of Team One, FIFA’s elite group of referees, at the FIFA World Cup,” FIFA said.
The governing body also added: “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino also urged respect for match officials.
“Once more, I reiterate that we must respect the referees and respect the rules that govern our game,” Infantino said.
Brazil federation rejects suspicion
The Brazilian Football Confederation also defended Claus.
The federation said there was nothing in his record that called his integrity into question or supported suspicion of wrongdoing.
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That response directly challenged the political framing of the case, especially after Giuliani continued to link Claus to the Brazilian senate investigation.
When challenged by a Brazilian reporter, Giuliani acknowledged that Claus had not been accused of crimes.
“He was not accused of crimes. We understand that,” Giuliani said. “What I’m telling you is that he was akin to a match-fixing investigation a few years ago in Brazil, where they were giving out, I quote, ‘irregular red cards,’ right? So that’s the facts of it. He was akin to that investigation.”
Belgium had the final answer
Balogun was cleared to play against Belgium, but his return did not save the United States.
The co-hosts were beaten 4-1 and knocked out of the World Cup, leaving the red-card controversy as one of the defining off-field stories of their campaign.
According to Yahoo Sports’ report on Belgium’s reaction, Belgian players appeared to mock Trump and FIFA after the match by dancing in a style associated with the US president and using the phrase “Overturn this.”
The message was blunt.
The appeal may have brought Balogun back, but Belgium made sure it did not change the final outcome.
