I asked Infantino to review Balogun’s red card offence

US President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that he asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the violation that resulted in American striker Folarin Balogun receiving a red card, and that he does not believe that the violation that the “horrific” referee awarded was fair.

“All I did was ask for a review of the decision, because I didn’t think it was an irregularity,” Trump told reporters.

For its part, the Belgian Football Association announced that FIFA rejected the letter sent by Belgium requesting a copy of the decision that authorized the participation of American striker Folarin Balogun in the match between the two teams at dawn on Tuesday in the World Cup, after FIFA considered this request an unacceptable appeal.

FIFA suspended the suspension imposed on Balogun as a result of receiving a red card, and allowed him to play in the Round of 16 match after the US President personally urged the FIFA President to reconsider the case.

The Belgian Federation said that it had only “a few hours” to act, while FIFA did not provide any information.

The Belgian Federation said in a statement, “For the appeal to be accepted, the FIFA regulations themselves stipulate that the appellant must first be notified of the reasoned decision.”

“While the Belgian Football Association was only seeking legitimate explanations, it was FIFA that raised the issue of the appeal and immediately confirmed that it was inadmissible.”

The Belgian Federation explained that it objected to allowing Balogun’s participation after FIFA deleted the item related to the automatic suspension of players from the schedule of the coordination meeting before the match, and did not explain the reason for this change despite repeated verbal and written requests.