Trump: "I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul"

President Trump said he asked FIFA President Gianni Infantino to review the red card issued to U.S. soccer star Folarin Balogun, saying he did not believe it was a foul and that it would have been unfair for him to miss the U.S. team's World Cup match against Belgium on Monday. The president said allowing the suspension to stand would have left a "big stain" on the tournament.

"I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul," he told reporters in the Oval Office. "I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything, that would be different."

After the phone call, FIFA made the virtually unprecedented decision to overturn the one-game suspension, creating a firestorm in the soccer world.

"I think it would have had a big stain," the president said. "I relayed it, just that feeling, I didn't tell him what to do. I can't tell him what to do. And I don't believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision."

"We got to have our best players, and they have to have their best — and if we win or we lose, that's fair," he continued. "I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee's call was horrible."

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