James Corden explains Folarin Balogun&x27;s World Cup reversal: &x27;Trump card&x27; Kathleen PerriconeMon, July 6, 2026 at 10:11 PM UTC 0 James Corden; Folarin BalogunCredit: Mike Marsland/WireImage; Maja Hitij FIFA/FIFA via GettyKey Points James Corden joked on Fox’s After Hours what really helped get Folarin Balogun’s red card reversed: “the Trump card.” Donald Trump has said he called up FIFA’s president after realizing Balogun would be suspended one game in the World Cup. “Number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players,” Trump said on Monday. When the U.S.
James Corden explains Folarin Balogun's World Cup reversal: 'Trump card'
Kathleen PerriconeMon, July 6, 2026 at 10:11 PM UTC
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James Corden; Folarin BalogunCredit: Mike Marsland/WireImage; Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via GettyKey Points -
James Corden joked on Fox’s After Hours what really helped get Folarin Balogun’s red card reversed: “the Trump card.”
Donald Trump has said he called up FIFA’s president after realizing Balogun would be suspended one game in the World Cup.
“Number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players,” Trump said on Monday.
When the U.S. Men’s National Team takes on Belgium in the World Cup’s Round of 16, they’ll have Folarin Balogun, whose one-game suspension was surprisingly overturned — and James Corden thinks he knows what inspired FIFA’s decision.
Before the news broke, social media had a field day with “Free Flo” memes showing Balogun rejecting the referee’s red card with everything from an Uno Reverse Card to Monopoly’s “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
But on Fox’s After Hours With James Corden, the host pointed out “the card that’s actually closest to the truth: the Trump card.”
President Trump revealed he made a phone call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino following USMNT’s July 1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was overshadowed by Balogun receiving a red card for a contact foul, resulting in suspension.
“I saw the play,” the president stated during a White House press conference on Monday. “I’m a person who loves sports and was a good athlete. I understand sports really well, really well, and that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed that happened to crash into each other.”
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The referee who handed out the red card “is a little bit suspect, if you check his past,” alleged Trump. “He made a call that nobody could believe.”
After learning that a red card would result in the suspension of “one of our best players,” the president admitted, “Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.”
But he insists he wasn’t trying to move the goalposts, so to speak.
“I didn’t tell [Infantino] what to do,” Trump added. “I can’t tell him what to do, but — 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 — because number one, it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.”
Following the controversial reversal announcement, Trump commended the decision, writing on his social media platform Truth Social: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
USMNT takes on Belgium at Seattle Stadium on Monday at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET on Fox, Telemundo, and Peacock.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: July 6, 2026 at 06:36PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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