{"id":784111,"date":"2026-07-07T05:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T05:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784111\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T05:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T05:08:16","slug":"folarin-balogun-red-card-controversy-why-donald-trumps-intervention-in-fifa-world-cup-decision-highlights-a-double-standard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/784111\/","title":{"rendered":"Folarin Balogun red card controversy: Why Donald Trump\u2019s intervention in FIFA World Cup decision highlights a double standard"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Washington: Donald Trump lifted the lid on how power works \u2013 at least in his America, and the world of FIFA – in his candid account of calling Gianni Infantino<\/a> to \u201crequest\u201d a review of Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card.<\/p>\n

It is hardly a shock. This is Trump\u2019s America. And this is FIFA \u2013 the same organisation that created the ridiculous \u201cFIFA Peace Prize<\/a>\u201d last year to further stroke the US president\u2019s ego. Still, sometimes it\u2019s a shock to see it executed so blatantly, and with such little attempt to hide it.<\/p>\n

\"DonaldDonald Trump and Gianni Infantino.AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin<\/p>\n

Sure, maybe Trump didn\u2019t directly order Infantino to overturn Balogun\u2019s suspension. \u201cI can\u2019t tell him what to do,\u201d he said. He was at least vaguely aware of the impropriety of the whole affair.<\/p>\n

But when the president of the United States \u2013 the host for the rest of the World Cup \u2013 rings you up and makes it clear what he wants, he doesn\u2019t need to say it twice. Especially when it\u2019s Infantino on the other end of the line.<\/p>\n

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee says it independently decided to suspend the implementation of Balogun\u2019s one-match suspension<\/a>, using its powers under Article 27 of FIFA\u2019s Disciplinary Code.<\/p>\n

Even if that\u2019s true, the phone call \u2013 and Trump\u2019s account of it \u2013 makes it nearly impossible to accept.<\/p>\n

\"USUS World Cup star Folarin Balogun, right, and Belgium\u2019s Nathan Ngoy contest the ball. The Americans lost and were eliminated from the tournament.Getty Images<\/p>\n

But it was instructive as to Trump\u2019s world view. Not only did he express contempt for the concept of a one-match suspension (\u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d he said), he seemed to argue that it shouldn\u2019t apply to Balogun because he was one of the US\u2019 best players. To sideline a top player would put a \u201cbig stain\u201d on the competition, Trump said.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar argument. He told reporters if Balogun didn\u2019t play and Belgium won, it would \u201ctaint\u201d the victory. Belgium should want him to play, Rubio said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Never mind how his presence on the field might \u201ctaint\u201d a US win. In Trump\u2019s America, there is one rule for the elite \u2013 the \u201cbest\u201d \u2013 and another rule for everyone else.<\/p>\n

The US president also made a point of mentioning how successful the US-hosted World Cup had been \u2013 in particular the massive crowds and TV audiences. That might be true, but he seemed to suggest the US\u2019 role as a host should earn it a reprieve when it came to Balogun\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n

There is also certain irony in Trump\u2019s attempt to protect the American star forward from the rules.<\/p>\n

Folarin Balogun was born in New York City in 2001, to Nigerian parents. They were not immigrants \u2013 they were visiting the United States. Reportedly, his mother was told she was too heavily pregnant to fly home to London.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Belgium<\/a><\/p>\n

Balogun was born in a Brooklyn hospital \u2013 and as such, he is an American citizen. That is why he is eligible to play for the US Men\u2019s National Team.<\/p>\n

This is birthright citizenship, protected by the 14th Amendment since 1868, and now affirmed \u2013 albeit narrowly \u2013 by the most conservative US Supreme Court in a century<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But if Trump had his way, Balogun would not be an American citizen, and would not be able to play for the US soccer team at all.<\/p>\n

The president has been campaigning to end birthright citizenship since his first term, though he only tried to do something about it in his second.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"President<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week, the nation\u2019s high court narrowly found it would be unconstitutional to strip away birthright citizenship in the manner of Trump\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say he doesn\u2019t have a normative case. Most countries don\u2019t grant birthright citizenship. Australia doesn\u2019t. According to the Pew Research Centre, only 32 other countries do so in the rather generous manner of the US.<\/p>\n

Trump was entitled to take his executive order to the Supreme Court, have it tested and accept the result (as he has done, begrudgingly).<\/p>\n

And Balogun \u2013 despite his prowess \u2013 is hardly the best argument for birthright citizenship. He is an accidental American, born there by circumstance, not because one or both of his parents sought a better life in the US, scraping and toiling as generations of immigrants have done.<\/p>\n

Still, proponents of birthright citizenship might point to Balogun and ask what other talents the country would forgo if the system were changed.<\/p>\n

And there is a dose of irony in Trump intervening to save this guy from the rule book when, if the president wrote the citizenship rules, he wouldn\u2019t be kicking goals for America in the first place.<\/p>\n

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more of our Trump\/FIFA coverage hereSave<\/p>\n

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\"MichaelMichael Koziol<\/a> is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":784112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-784111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=784111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/784111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=784111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=784111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=784111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}