Andrew Giuliani, who leads the World Cup taskforce at the White House, has come to the defense of Donald Trump regarding his efforts to persuade Fifa to overturn the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun ahead of the match against Belgium.
Trump raised concerns about Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who issued a red card to Balogun during the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He described Claus as “a little bit suspect, if you check his past” seemingly referring to a match-fixing inquiry conducted by Brazil’s senate in 2024. This investigation looked into how referees were appointed but did not implicate Claus in any wrongdoing.
During a press briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Giuliani expressed the taskforce’s concerns.
“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. Then when you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how VAR was initiated. For contact fouls, you cannot actually utilise the slow motion in the VAR, and they did that. “So when you add those two facts together there, we found it was very, very highly suspicious. And look, the US government, whether it’s at the ballot box or whether it is on the playing field, we want fair play, right?”
When pressed by a reporter who pointed out that Claus had only testified in the match-fixing investigation and was not a subject of it, Giuliani conceded.
“He was not accused of crimes – we understand that – but what I’m telling you is that he was akin to a match-fixing investigation a few years ago in Brazil where they were giving out, I quote, ‘irregular red cards’. So that’s the facts of it. He was akin to that investigation.”
The United States suffered a 4-1 defeat to Belgium, leading to their elimination from the tournament. In response to the controversy, Fifa issued a statement defending Claus, asserting, “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
