Trump thanks Infantino for lifting Balogun's ban — and faces criticism

Trump said he had called Infantino and made a "recommendation" in the matter. At the reception, he stated according to attendee reports: "Sie haben das Spiel gewonnen und unser Team hatte alle Spieler." He was referring to Balogun's return to the squad, which had initially seemed unlikely following an official suspension.

Turning to Infantino, Trump added: "Ich weiß, dass du niemals dafür die Anerkennung bekommst." Those in the room interpreted this as an indication that Trump had personally coordinated the decision with the FIFA President over the heads of the responsible FIFA bodies. Trump also spoke of one of Infantino's "many good decisions."

Trump called the tournament "das erfolgreichste Sportevent, vielleicht in der Geschichte der Welt. Es war großartig." He also raised the prospect of another US bid to host a World Cup, saying: "Ich sage, wir sollten wieder die USA auswählen. Dieses Mal lassen wir Mexiko und Kanada draußen." However, no official bid was announced.

Trump's words in Trump Tower

FIFA President Infantino confirmed during the week that he regularly speaks with Trump about World Cup matters. Regarding the specific Balogun case, he said: "In diesem speziellen Fall erhielt ich einen Anruf von Präsident Donald Trump." He said he had explained to Trump that the process was still ongoing and that the responsible bodies would decide.

Infantino, however, rejected any influence on the disciplinary committee's decision and stressed the independence of FIFA bodies. He said: "So funktioniert das System der FIFA, und dieses Prinzip werde ich stets wahren." According to FIFA, the formally independent disciplinary committee, which ultimately lifted the suspension, acted without political directive.

International criticism of the decision

The news of Trump's call and the lifting of the ban triggered outrage worldwide, especially in Europe. Observers spoke of unprecedented political interference in sport. The decision was criticized as "unangemessene politische Einmischung," as a sitting head of state had directly intervened in disciplinary matters of an ongoing tournament.

Former officials also spoke out. Former FIFA President Joseph Blatter said the current FIFA President had "Donald Trump unterworfen." Jürgen Klopp, who works as a TV expert for MagentaTV, criticized the development with the words: "Das ist unser Spiel, nicht deren Spiel."

Belgian reaction after the 4-1 victory

Despite Balogun's participation, the US team lost the round of 16 against Belgium decisively 1:4. The statistics show that the striker could not prevent the defeat. After the match, the Belgian football association posted an image on platform X of Romelu Lukaku making the gesture of holding a hand to his ear, with the caption: "Macht das mal rückgängig." The association was ironically alluding to the controversial lifting of the ban.

Trump's words suggested a personal intervention by Infantino in the decision, even though the official FIFA line emphasizes the independence of the disciplinary committee. A lack of transparency characterizes the communication in the case: FIFA neither published the specific reasoning for lifting the suspension nor explained in what form Trump's call was incorporated into the proceedings.

Further controversies surrounding the tournament

The events shed light on the intersections between sport, politics, and business. Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House's FIFA World Cup task force, had previously raised the possibility of a US bid for the 2038 World Cup with 64 teams. Infantino has not ruled out a short-term expansion of the tournament from the current 48 to 64 teams. Trump also told Infantino that he understood the latter would make the next World Cup "even bigger."

The coverage of the tournament in the US fits into a series of controversies. For instance, the US immigration authorities denied entry to the Somali referee Omar Artan, 34, Africa's Referee of the Year 2025, despite his holding a valid visa. This was justified on security grounds due to alleged ties to a terrorist organization in Somalia. UEFA had previously nominated Artan for the UEFA Super Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa on 12 August in Salzburg.

Another incident involves the Salvadoran referee Iván Barton, who sent off Miguel Almirón of Paraguay in the group match between Paraguay and Turkey after a video review on the field. It was the first red card in World Cup history given to a player for covering his mouth during a dispute. Barton announced the decision over the stadium microphone: "After Review. Number 10. Paraguay. Covered his mouth. Decision is: Red Card!"

The World Cup rule, which punishes players who cover their mouths to hide their words, was introduced shortly before the tournament to counter racist insults directed at opponents. The also officially introduced three-minute cooling breaks per half also sparked discussion. While some coaches such as Algeria's Vladimir Petkovic ("Es ist wie ein kleiner Timeout und es macht es leichter, den Spielern Anweisungen zu geben"), Austria's Ralf Rangnick, and Belgium's Rudi Garcia welcomed the breaks, Uruguay's then-coach Marcelo Bielsa criticized them as a cultural distortion of football. The breaks were largely booed by fans.

Outlook: 2038 World Cup and the role of the USA

The Balogun affair is part of an already tense tournament phase, in which the Argentine team also reached the final with its captain Lionel Messi. Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan had even described the round of 16 match Argentina-Egypt (3:2 after a 0:2 deficit) as "ganz klar manipuliert," linked to the suspicion that the title holder and Messi had been kept in the competition. Infantino had also already presented Trump with the controversial FIFA Peace Prize plaque at the World Cup draw, further illustrating the entanglements between the association and US politics.