President Donald Trump has confirmed that he asked FIFA to review the one-match suspension of United States striker Folarin Balogun at the World Cup. Trump stated that FIFA "made the right decision" to suspend Balogun's ban, arguing that it would have left a "big stain" on the tournament had it been implemented. Balogun, the US's top scorer in the tournament, was set to be suspended for the last-16 tie against Belgium, but FIFA suspended the automatic ban for 12 months on Monday night. Speaking at the White House, Trump said he spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino but only asked for a review, claiming he "didn't think it was a foul" and described the incident as "two great athletes who crashed into each other." He added that he did not tell Infantino he had to suspend the ban, and believes the decision was made by a commission.
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