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Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House's World Cup task force, has defended the United States' right to challenge Folarin Balogun's suspension, citing the "highly suspicious" background of referee Raphael Claus and the substantial financial investment made toward hosting the tournament.
Although Balogun's suspension had been confirmed ahead of the USMNT's round-of-16 matchup against Belgium, FIFA unexpectedly overturned the ban following pressure from the White House and President Donald Trump.
The ruling triggered widespread outrage throughout the soccer community, with Jürgen Klopp among the prominent voices to publicly condemn the decision, though Giuliani maintained that the White House's involvement was entirely warranted.
"We believe in a level playing field," Giuliani said. "I can tell you President Trump takes it extremely seriously, whether it's on the pitch or whether it's in the ballot box.
"We want to make sure that America, especially when you consider all the federal dollars that we laid out for this, all of the years of preparation that went into this, the vision, going back to 2018, that we can ensure at least it was going to be fairly administered on the pitch."
Giuliani: Referee Was 'Highly Suspicious'
The White House's intervention is said to have centered on the referee who issued the red card to Balogun. Claus initially allowed play to continue, failing to spot an infringement in real time, before revisiting the call at the pitchside monitor after being directed by VAR.
In 2024, Claus was the subject of an investigation by the Brazilian Football Confederation over allegations of match-fixing and gambling violations after club owner John Textor accused him of deliberately undermining Botafogo. He was ultimately cleared of all charges.
"We found it highly suspicious that there was a referee who had been investigated for match fixing previously, and specifically for irregular red cards, issuing irregular red cards," Giuliani continued.
"Then when you add to the fact that the process was misapplied by how the VAR was initiated there. Contact fouls, you cannot actually utilize the slow-motion in the VAR, and they did that."
FIFA had already come out in defense of its referees against bias allegations following fierce criticism from Egypt manager Hossam Hassan, who claimed FIFA was deliberately favoring Lionel Messi and Argentina for financial motives. Hassan had watched his side surge to a stunning 2–0 lead, only for Argentina to mount a comeback and claim a 3–2 victory.
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"Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials," refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina insisted. "When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.
"Equally, nobody can claim that FIFA Refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA President [Gianni Infantino]."