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Trump called FIFA chief to review Balogun red card: NY Times

US President Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the World Cup suspension of USA striker Folarin Balogun, which was reversed by football’s governing body on Sunday, the New York Times reported.

Balogun had been sent off for inadvertently treading on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic in the USA’s 2-0 victory in the last 32 on Wednesday.

Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban that cannot be appealed by the player’s team, meaning Balogun was ruled out of USA’s last 16 match against Belgium to be played Monday.

But Trump called Infantino on Wednesday asking him to review the decision, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed people familiar with the decision.

On Sunday, FIFA took the unusual decision to suspend the ban for one year. Trump quickly thanked the governing body in a social media post for “reversing a great injustice.”

Belgium’s football association said Sunday it was “astonished” at FIFA’s decision.

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