‘Not helpful’ – English Referee Chief weighs in on Donald Trump intervening in World Cup red card incident

On Aug 20, 2026

USMNT striker Folarin Balogun had a red card suspended during the 2026 World Cup after The White House made a call to FIFA.

Balogun was sent off in the Round of 32 against Bosnia and Herzegovina and should have been banned for one game, which would have meant he missed the Round of 16 tie versus Belgium.

However, it was reported by Ben Jacobs at the time that ‘The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card’.

The ban was then suspended, prompting Donald Trump to say ‘thank you’ to FIFA in a social media post.

It was a pretty bizarre turn of events, as the card was not actually overturned, but just suspended for one year so Balogun could play against Belgium.

Now, Chief Refereeing Officer for the PGMOL in England, Howard Webb, has been asked about the incident in an interview with Sky.

Photo by Maja Hitij – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Howard Webb comments on Folarin Balogun World Cup red card incident

The interviewer asked Webb: “We did see a very high-profile case of Donald Trump intervening to get a Folarin Balogun red card overturned, then the disciplinary process took hold and lifted the immediate suspension. Is this an issue that you might face in some form here?”

Webb then responded: “Integrity in football is so, so important. We live in a world where conspiracy theories are abounding based on nothing. No fact, no evidence and of course, when something like that happened, and there’s some external pressure applied, it’s not helpful.”

He continued: “I just think that the fact that it was admitted post event that some pressure had been applied and some process implemented, and I don’t know the ins and outs of it, but at least what we know gives fuel to those people that think that those sort of conversations happen all the time and I’m really confident they don’t.”

In the aftermath of the World Cup, Trump has faced backlash from soccer fans after he publicly showed support for FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Infantino was trying to sell a stake in the tournament to private investors, one of whom was understood to be the brother of Trump’s son-in-law.

But that sale is no longer happening after much pushback from many international organisations, such as UEFA.

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