By Bo Erickson and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Monday he asked FIFA chief Gianni Infantino to review a red-card foul against USA striker Folarin Balogun and that he did not think the foul called by the “horrible” referee was fair.
“All I did, I asked for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The unprecedented move has thrust FIFA’s disciplinary process into the global spotlight and prompted an angry response from Belgium, who play the U.S. on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Trump said the incident that got Balogun the red card was simply a case of two athletes colliding and he raised questions about the fairness of the referee who called the foul.
“I saw the play,” Trump said. “That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running whole speed that happened to crash into each other.”
He said FIFA made a “really brilliant decision” to suspend the red card. “I think the referee’s call was horrible,” he said.
Trump said all he did was ask for a review. “I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do,” he said.
He said it was important for team USA to have its best players on the field.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland: Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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