Donald Trump calls referee 'very suspect' as he addresses Folarin Balogun situation in White House speech

US President Donald Trump has called the referee who sent off Folarin Balogun “very suspect” as the fallout continues over FIFA's decision to suspend the striker's automatic one-game ban.

It will go down as one of the more controversial moments of this summer's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

After being shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, it has been confirmed that Folarin Balogun will be available to play the upcoming round-of-16 match against Belgium.

A statement from FIFA read: “In line with article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.

“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

U.S. Soccer said it “accepted” and was “pleased” with the decision, while Donald Trump thanked FIFA for "reversing a great injustice" in a post on social media.

Trump went one step further on Monday, confirming that he contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the red card to be reviewed. In fact, he claimed, "I'm the one that got them to do it", according to Sky News.

NOW - Trump confirms he spoke to FIFA President, asked for a review, calls the referee that gave the red card "very suspect," and says the red card "wasn't a foul, that wasn't even an infraction... he didn't do anything wrong... that's very unfair." pic.twitter.com/MujWgJ2Qn0

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 6, 2026

Speaking at the White House, he criticised the referee’s decision to give Balogun a red card.

"I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete and I understand sports really well, really well," he said.

Trump added: "That wasn't a foul... that was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other. Like, you can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot... these were two great athletes that got tangled up.

"This referee is a little bit suspect. If you check his past, I don't want to say that because I don't like to create controversy, but very suspect."

He also described Balogun as "our best player", adding: “How would it be if we took Messi out, he ran into somebody, or Ronaldo, someone, Or Harry Kane- we take him out of the game because he happened to hit somebody a bit hard. It would have stained this incredible championship."

The transcript of Donald Trump's speech about Folarin Balogun situation in full

"So, I saw the play. And I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. And I understand sports really well. Really well. And that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other," began Trump.

"You can't take your foot and properly place it on somebody else's foot when you're going — no, these were two great athletes that got tangled up.

"And this referee, who is a little bit suspect, if you check his past. I don't want to say that because I don't like to create controversy. But very suspect. If you'd like, I'll provide you with the past.

"He made a call that nobody could believe. You know, even people on the other side, they said, oh, we got lucky. Wow, that's — and it's very interesting. They say they don't show them in slow motion.

"And I never realised that. I never heard of that before, that they're not allowed to review in slow motion because it's so different.

"Because you'll take one little quarter of a second and you'll see that a hand is touching a neck or you'll see something. Whereas when you see it in fast motion, it will look like two guys collided, which is really what happened. They got sort of entangled.

"He didn't do anything wrong. And he's our best player or one of our best players, a very vital player. And he gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't think it meant much.

"Then I started hearing that that means he can't play in the next game, at least in the next game. I said, boy, that's a big — you know, if it happened to another player, it would have been unfair. But when they take your best player or just about — they have some great players, but — and they say you can't play, that's very unfair.

"That's — you know, it's one thing to penalise somebody for the game. But how do you penalise them for a game that hasn't been played yet? It's very unfair. You can't do that.

"So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who's highly respected and, by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold. And he was good before this started. But, you know, he really pushed it in this country.

"I'm the one that got them to do it. It was not Biden. Biden was asleep. I got him to do it. In fact, it was very sad because I got him to do it. And if the progression was normal, I would have been retired now."