Donald Trump once again took center stage at the World Cup, commenting on the organization of the tournament, the phone call regarding Folarin Balogun, and even Harry Kane, among various topics he chose to address. The President of the United States met with Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, at an event in Trump Tower, New York, where they spoke for about half an hour, but no questions were allowed. Trump praised Infantino for the “great decision” to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban. This measure, which generated significant controversy at the World Cup, came after a phone call from Trump to the FIFA president regarding the red card issued to the American forward in the match against Bosnia, which would have sidelined him for the clash with Belgium. The president confirmed that he called Infantino to request a review of the case. “I was forced to call Gianni and make just one recommendation. I said, ‘Gianni, I would like to make a recommendation. Let the guy play,'” he stated, before backtracking. “No, I didn’t say that. I said: ‘I would like to file a complaint.’ In fact, I didn’t do that; I had no idea what would happen, but it’s much better how everything turned out because there’s no controversy,” he added. Trump continued, praising the decision he attributed to Infantino: “They [Belgium] won the game and our team had all its players. You [Gianni] made another great decision, if you think about it. I know you’ll never get the credit. But if he [Gianni] hadn’t allowed it, then the [U.S. team] would say: ‘We would have won the game if we had our best players.’ So Gianni made another one of his many good decisions.” Infantino seemed to protest, murmuring that he was not the one who made the decision, but it was almost inaudible, noted The Athletic, which was present in the room. Trump also took the opportunity to criticize the defensive tactics of England’s coach, Thomas Tuchel, in the semi-final loss to Argentina (1-2), defending his “friend” Harry Kane, with whom he once played golf. He commented on Tuchel’s decision to put Kane in a defensive role when his team was leading against Argentina in the semi-final. “Harry has been fantastic. I think maybe they made a mistake when they turned him [Kane] into a defensive player. They were winning, took their best player and put him in defense. We need to be a little offensive, right? What do I know about football coaching? But it was a bit unusual,” he commented. Infantino was the first to speak, stating that the World Cup “exceeded all expectations” and fulfilled a promise made to Trump in 2018. “You told me that America would host the world, and indeed, it hosted the world. Everyone who came here enjoyed it, and everyone who stayed home enjoyed it too,” Infantino declared, addressing Trump. But not everyone, in fact. The FIFA leader did not mention the U.S. decision to initially bar Somali referee Omar Artan from entering, allegedly due to “association with suspects belonging to terrorist organizations.” The difficulties faced by the Iranian team were also omitted, whose captain, Mehdi Taremi, described the organization of the tournament as a “disaster” due to visa restrictions. Infantino described FIFA as “the official supplier of happiness for humanity,” to which Trump interrupted: “Unless the team loses.” The FIFA president continued with lavish praise: “None of this would have been possible, and I say this because it’s the truth, because you don’t need people to praise you, Mr. President, this World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you.” Infantino added: “This is the greatest human, social, and cultural event that humanity has ever witnessed. So I thank you. A country will be world champion, but the world has already won, America has won, FIFA has won.” The U.S. president also commented on the performances of several other stars of the tournament. He praised the passing ability of Argentine captain Lionel Messi, describing him as a player who “was born with something extra special,” and placed Cristiano Ronaldo on the same level. “I’ve gotten to know him over the years, and he’s a great guy,” he said about the Portuguese. The president expressed surprise at France’s 0-2 defeat to Spain in the semi-final. “They looked unbeatable and then didn’t win against Spain. It happens in life. You’re at the top and then you’re not,” he reflected. Trump also revealed that Infantino confided in him that FIFA is considering expanding the World Cup to include 16 more teams and encouraged the FIFA president to choose the U.S. as hosts again. “This time, let’s leave Mexico and Canada out,” he joked. Trump will attend the World Cup final on Sunday and it was announced by Infantino that he will present the trophy to the winner alongside the FIFA president. This was already seen last year when they presented the trophy to Chelsea for the Club World Cup.
Read more in Premier League news. and related tags: Donald Trump, World Cup.