White House Official Defends Trump’s FIFA Intervention Over Balogun Red Card
White House s World Cup head – Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has publicly justified President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade FIFA to reverse the suspension of American soccer player Folarin Balogun ahead of Monday’s contest versus Belgium. The controversy centers on a red card issued by Brazilian official Raphael Claus during the United States’ encounter with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trump had previously characterized Claus as “a little bit suspect, if you check his past,” pointing toward a 2024 Brazilian senate probe into match-fixing that reviewed referee assignments but stopped short of formally charging Claus with any misconduct. Giuliani addressed journalists gathered at Washington DC’s Foreign Press Center, explaining the administration’s position. He stated:
We found it highly suspicious that there was a referee who had been investigated for match-fixing previously, and specifically for irregular red cards, issuing irregular red cards.
The White House official continued, noting additional procedural concerns regarding the VAR review process. He explained that contact fouls typically cannot utilize slow-motion replay, yet officials did so in this instance.
And then when you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how the VAR was initiated there. Contact fouls, you cannot actually utilise the slow-motion in the VAR, and they did that. So when you add those two facts together there, we found [that] it was very, very highly suspicious.
Giuliani emphasized the administration’s commitment to fairness across all domains.
Look, the US government, whether it’s at the ballot box or whether it’s on the playing field, we want fair play, all right? And so for us, we thought that was very suspicious, to say the least, just like most Americans, I think just like most people who took an unbiased view of this. And we’re happy that US Soccer was able to file the appeal, and that we think the correct result was achieved.
When a Brazilian journalist pointed out that Claus had merely provided testimony rather than being a primary target of the investigation, Giuliani acknowledged the distinction while maintaining his position.
He was not accused of crimes. We understand that. What I’m telling you is that he was akin to a match-fixing investigation a few years ago in Brazil, where they were giving out, I quote, ‘irregular red cards,’ right? So that’s the facts of it. He was akin to that investigation.
The American squad ultimately departed the tournament following a 4-1 defeat to Belgium. Belgian players celebrated their advancement by mimicking Trump’s signature YMCA dance routine inside their locker room. Some observers argued the president’s involvement energized the Belgian side and diminished the positive atmosphere the host nation had cultivated. Both FIFA and the Brazilian Football Confederation have publicly supported Claus. FIFA released a statement affirming that the referee “has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity” throughout his career. The Brazilian federation similarly noted that nothing in Claus’s record warrants questioning his integrity or suggesting wrongdoing. Giuliani also addressed concerns regarding logistical decisions for the Iranian national team, which established its headquarters in Tijuana, Mexico, despite hosting matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
The flight time – air time – is 27 minutes from Tijuana to Los Angeles, which made it easy to decide that the day before would be a proper time to allow the team to come in the country, give them plenty of time.
He compared the arrangement to NFL practices and noted that the US national team followed a similar pattern after traveling to Seattle for their match against Australia. With eight games still to play, Giuliani—son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani—characterized the tournament as both a historic and economic triumph. He reported that attendance has surpassed 6.5 million spectators, nearly doubling the 3.5 million record established during the 1994 World Cup hosted by the United States. Regarding ticket pricing concerns raised by Trump, Giuliani explained that FIFA received over 500 million requests for just 7 million available tickets, creating significant supply-demand imbalance. Additionally, 4,547 tickets per match were allocated to American military veterans. The administration also streamlined visa processing for millions of legal visitors, with more than 5 million ESTA applications handled during the tournament’s first half.
