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TrumpWorld · July 7 · 28 min

World Cup: how Trump’s Balogun red card call ‘COMPLETELY BACKFIRED’ on America

An unprecedented FIFA decision, a direct intervention from Donald Trump, and a World Cup controversy that has left football divided. Trump says he personally asked FIFA to review Folarin Balogun's red card suspension. FIFA overturned the automatic ban, prompting protests from Belgium, criticism from UEFA, and fresh questions about President Gianni Infantino's relationship with the White House. This week on TrumpWorld, Anushka Asthana speaks to Financial Times journalist and author of World Cut Fever Simon Kuper, who is in the US covering his 10th World Cup, about what happened behind the scenes, hydration breaks, whether politics is reshaping world football, and what Trump's involvement means for the 2026 World Cup.

0:00-28:52
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An unprecedented FIFA decision, a direct intervention from Donald Trump, and a World Cup controversy that has left football divided.

Trump says he personally asked FIFA to review Folarin Balogun's red card suspension. FIFA overturned the automatic ban, prompting protests from Belgium, criticism from UEFA, and fresh questions about President Gianni Infantino's relationship with the White House.

This week on TrumpWorld, Anushka Asthana speaks to Financial Times journalist and author of World Cut Fever Simon Kuper, who is in the US covering his 10th World Cup, about what happened behind the scenes, hydration breaks, whether politics is reshaping world football, and what Trump's involvement means for the 2026 World Cup.

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