For a while, it was easy to forget that the World Cup was taking place in Trump’s America. There were no clashes between ICE and fan groups. Fans who chanted NSFW slogans about the president were not taken to detention centers. People were really having fun, discovering an America that existed beyond the stereotypes seen on sitcoms. And then a red-card reprieve came back to remind us that the World Cup is being held in very tumultuous times. And then a call came. But let’s start from the beginning.
big picture
The 2026 World Cup was always going to be bigger than just football. It is the first 48-team edition, spanning the US, Mexico and Canada, spanning 104 matches and has been sold as the biggest, grandest and most lucrative tournament ever organized by FIFA. It’s also being played in a year when the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, which gives Donald Trump exactly the kind of backdrop he instinctively understands: flags, stadiums, national anthems, cameras, a national theater and the prospect of a home team carrying the contest throughout the month.It is in this context that FIFA’s relationship with Trump must be understood. FIFA may own the World Cup, but it does not own America’s borders, airports, policing, airspace, visa system, emergency protocols or federal security machinery. For all its Zurich swagger, FIFA cannot run a tournament of this scale in the US without the involvement of the White House and the US state. So Trump is more than a VIP in a box. He is the host president of the country who controls much of the physical reality of the tournament.This is where Gianni Infantino’s FIFA enters more dangerous territory. Infantino has spent years transforming FIFA from a soccer regulator into a kind of traveling court of global power. He adores presidents, princes, prime ministers and anyone else who can provide stadiums, sponsors, television images and silence. Trump has called him the “King of Football”, which sounds ridiculous until one sees how much of modern FIFA has become a projection of Infantino’s own authority.The New Yorker profile of Infantino sharply reflected this change. A former UEFA colleague said that his vision was to expand “FIFA’s power and its own power”. Another former high-ranking FIFA official said that “no major decisions” were taken at the tournament without Infantino’s direct involvement. This matters because the Balogun case did not go away. It came within a relationship that already included a FIFA Peace Prize for Trump, a FIFA office in Trump Tower, moving the World Cup draw to Washington, DC after Trump suggested the Kennedy Center, and the scene of Village People performing Trump’s unofficial anthem “YMCA” at a FIFA event.So when the phone rang, FIFA couldn’t find any opinion from any politician about VAR. It was hearing from the host president, the anniversary impresario, the security concierge, the trophy-presenter-in-waiting and a man named Infantino, who had already spent months inside the tournament’s theater.
red-card redemption
The soccer part of the story began in the United States’ Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, when Folarin Balogun was sent off for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic. Under the normal disciplinary rhythms of football, the path was quite simple. A red card brings an automatic one-match suspension, meaning Balogun will miss the round of 16 against Belgium, American fans will be angry at the referees, pundits will argue about slow-motion replays, and everyone will eventually discover a new resentment by breakfast.Instead, Trump called Infantino and asked for a review. There was a widespread pressure surrounding that call that included lawyers, officials and people close to US Soccer to find a way to make Balogun available. FIFA ultimately found the answer in Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which allows the enforcement of a sanction to be suspended. The red card remained on Balogun’s record, but the punishment was delayed for a one-year probationary period, which meant he could play against Belgium.
Trump celebrated the decision in his usual register, thanking FIFA “for doing what was right, and for overturning a huge injustice!” UEFA saw a very different picture and called the decision “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unfair”, adding that FIFA had “crossed the red line”. The phrase matters because it was no longer just about whether Balogun’s tackle deserved a red. Even some critics of FIFA’s decision thought the original decision was harsh. The problem was that the so-called automatic punishment became flexible when the host country’s president decided it needed to be reviewed.Article 27 is the kind of clause that lies quietly in disciplinary codes until the powers that be need it to open the door. Earlier this year, Cristiano Ronaldo was suspended for two matches due to a red card against Ireland, allowing him to miss Portugal’s opening World Cup group match. Balogun has now used the same route, which is why the provision already sounds like the Ronaldo Rule: the offense stays on paper, the punishment is delayed in practice, and the spectacle gets the player it wants.Belgium immediately understood the danger. Its federation said it was “appalled”. Belgium coach Rudy Garcia joked about the timing, saying, “I didn’t know that in FIFA, July 5 was equivalent to April 1.” Wayne Rooney called it an “absolute disgrace” and said Infantino “should be embarrassed”. Gary Neville said the decision was “absolutely terrible”. Norway coach Stel Solbakken raised a more lasting point when he warned that if the U.S. won, the decision would be put in the background. That’s what FIFA has done here. It has given every future argument about a US campaign a second scoreboard, where goals matter and access to power matters too.
beyond the headlines
Balogun’s relief becomes even more apparent when placed next to Iran’s World Cup experience. Iran’s tournament was beset by visa and security complications, with members of its wider delegation struggling with access and the team’s base being moved from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said, “We have to fight everything here.” This line is so apt because it shows the difference between playing in the World Cup and being welcomed by it.For Iran, the sovereignty of the host country became a wall. FIFA found a door for America. That paradox is the heart of this work. FIFA sells the World Cup as the great republic of football, a place where the ball has to be leveled for 90 minutes to level the hierarchy. Yet the tournament still resides within the political systems of its hosts. Some teams face immigration queues, security concerns and suspicion. The host country receives a phone call from the President and a constructive study of the disciplinary code.
The Iran team poses for a group photo before the World Cup Group G soccer match between Belgium and Iran in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles on Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Infantino’s defenders will argue that FIFA merely followed its own rules, and technically he may have a document trail to point to. But FIFA’s problem is no longer a lack of rules; It is suspected that rules are most easily bent when bending helps the powerful. The same organization that insists on political neutrality has no problem standing next to power when power comes with stadiums, money and global attention.Infantino himself has helped create this perception. He awarded Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, saying, “This is what we want from a leader.” He has publicly praised Trump, telling the audience that “he’s implementing what he said he would do” and adding, “I think we should all support what he’s doing, because I think he’s doing great, right?” These are not the words of a distant sports administrator carefully maintaining institutional separation. These are the words of a man who sees proximity to political power as part of FIFA’s natural habitat.
no other clothes
A final image is still awaited for this World Cup. Infantino has said that Trump will present the trophy at the final on July 19, explaining, “We will enjoy the final together with the President and hand the trophy to the winner, of course, together.” That one sentence sums up the entire tournament: Trump on the draw, Trump with the prize, Trump on the phone, Trump in the final picture.
FILE – President Donald Trump holds the FIFA World Cup winners’ trophy as FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on August 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin, File)
Balogun’s relief did not create FIFA’s Trump problem. This exposed a previously hidden relationship. FIFA can cite committees, codes and Article 27, and every line of paperwork can still be made respectable. But football is hardly harmed by what is written in the rule book alone. The people behind the room where the rule book was read believe it has been damaged by what happened. The World Cup was supposed to bring the world aside all its differences. Where we all put our geopolitical differences aside and were more concerned about watching our team play football. That cover is now completely gone.