[Anchor]

President Donald Trump has revealed that he personally called the FIFA president to request a review of a suspension. By doing so, he has effectively admitted to intervening to ensure that Folarin Balogun, the star striker for the U.S. national soccer team, could play in the Round of 16. The admission has triggered widespread criticism from around the world.

Reporter Yu Deok-gi has the story.

[Reporter]

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was sent off during the World Cup Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 2 after stepping on an opponent's ankle, which resulted in a suspension for the upcoming Round of 16 match.

President Trump defended Balogun, claiming the incident was not a foul and lacked intent.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: It wasn't a foul. It wasn't even a foul. It was just two people running at full speed who happened to collide.]

He then admitted to personally calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to demand a review of the disciplinary action.

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: It’s very unfair. They shouldn't do that. So I asked FIFA to review it.]

When asked if this constituted political interference in soccer, he responded as follows:

[Donald Trump/U.S. President: All I can say is that I was not involved in that decision at all.]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino maintained that FIFA's judicial bodies, including the Disciplinary Committee, are independent, and claimed that the decision to suspend Balogun's penalty, allowing him to play in the Round of 16, was unrelated to President Trump's phone call.

However, The Wall Street Journal reported that, under Trump's direction, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House World Cup Task Force, had launched an all-out effort to have Balogun's suspension overturned, sarcastically calling it "one of the most audacious schemes in the 96-year history of the World Cup."

Fans of Belgium, the U.S. team's opponent in the Round of 16, were outraged, arguing that the move undermined the spirit of sportsmanship.

[Nicolas Dardan/Belgium Soccer Fan: It means a red card can be overturned at any time. What on earth is FIFA doing? Honestly, this is not soccer.]

Criticism also emerged among American soccer fans.

[Liz Johnson/U.S. Soccer Fan: I don't want to create a situation where sports rules become meaningless if someone just asks for a retrial. If that's the case, why do we have rules in the first place?]

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) condemned FIFA, stating that the decision was "unprecedented and unjustifiable" and that it had "crossed a red line."

The fallout is already impacting the World Cup.

The French Football Federation has demanded that FIFA rescind the yellow card given to forward Michael Olise during the Round of 16, and the English Football Association is also considering an appeal regarding the suspension of defender Jarell Quansah, who was sent off in the Round of 16.

(Video Editing: Jung Seong-hun, Design: Jeon Yu-geun)