Trump's representative: We got the red card overturned, which shouldn't have been there in the first place

One of the loudest scandals of the 2026 World Cup happened when it became known about the call of the President of the United States Donald Trump to the head of FIFA Gianni Infantino with the demand to postpone the suspension of the striker of the American national team Folarin Balogun for the expulsion he received in the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, before the 1/8 final match of the tournament against Belgium. The director of the White House working group on the 2026 World Cup, Andrew Giuliani, reported at a press conference about the position of the US authorities on this issue. "This does not set a precedent for the United States to investigate what may appear to be fraudulent management of events on the field. We have had situations in the past where US authorities have pressed for investigations into misconduct in Major League Baseball (MLB) or the NBA. When Brazilian referee Rafael Klaus ruled that Balogun deserved a red card in the Round of 16 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina, myself, Mr. Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed the matter and decided that the president should call Infantino. Fair play and a level playing field for all are taken very seriously in the United States, and the President of the United States in particular takes it very seriously. Either on the field or near the ballot box. We want to ensure that Americans, especially with all the federal money invested and the years of preparation devoted to this World Cup starting in 2018, can be confident that at least the competition on the field has been conducted fairly. And we did just that: we got that red card overturned that should never have been shown. We back our intentions with actions. The White House believes everything was done right. We also find it highly suspicious that a referee who has previously been investigated for match-fixing, including unjustified red cards, is participating in this tournament. I mean, his case was related to the match-fixing investigation that took place a few years ago in Brazil, where, quote, "non-obvious red cards" were shown. It's a fact: he was connected to this investigation. He was not the main suspect in that case, but he was involved in it," said a representative of the US president.