Trump Defends Referee Criticism at World Cup

Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House's World Cup taskforce, defended Donald Trump's lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday's game against Belgium. michezonews.co.za

The US president claimed Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who showed Balogun a red card in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was "a little bit suspect," referencing a match-fixing investigation by Brazil's senate in 2024 that examined referee assignments but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing.