Andrew Giuliani, who heads the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has rallied behind Donald Trump’s attempts to convince FIFA to revoke the red card handed to US player Folarin Balogun. The suspension had threatened to sideline him for the pivotal match against Belgium.
Trump voiced skepticism regarding the integrity of Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who issued the red card during the encounter with Bosnia and Herzegovina. He commented that Claus appeared “a little bit suspect, if you check his past” referencing a 2024 Brazilian Senate investigation into match-fixing that examined referee assignments but did not implicate Claus in wrongdoing.
At a press conference held at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Giuliani expressed, “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. “And then when you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how the VAR was initiated there. 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 [that] it was very, very highly suspicious. He added: “Look, the US government, whether it’s at the ballot box or whether it’s on the playing field, we want fair play, all right? And so for us, we thought that was very suspicious, to say the least, just like most Americans, I think just like most people who took an unbiased view of this. And we’re happy that US Soccer was able to file the appeal, and that we think the correct result was achieved.” He elaborated on concerns surrounding the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) process, stating, “He was not accused of crimes. We understand that. 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,’ right? So that’s the facts of it. He was akin to that investigation.”
Giuliani insisted, “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
A Brazilian journalist challenged Giuliani, pointing out that Claus was only a witness during the match-fixing inquiry and not a subject of investigation. Giuliani acknowledged this, saying, “There is nothing in his record that calls his integrity into question or supports any suspicion of wrongdoing.”
The United States faced elimination from the tournament following a 4-1 defeat to Belgium, whose players mocked Trump with the YMCA dance during their celebrations. Critics contended that the president’s involvement may have fueled the Belgian team’s motivation and jeopardized the goodwill the US had built as the host nation.
In defense of Claus, FIFA stated, “The flight time – air time – is 27 minutes from Tijuana to Los Angeles, which made it easy to decide that the day before would be a proper time to allow the team to come in the country, give them plenty of time,” The Brazilian Football Confederation added that there is no evidence in Claus’s history that questions his integrity or supports any allegations of misconduct.
During the same press conference, Giuliani also addressed the controversy surrounding the logistical arrangements for the Iranian national team. The team opted to establish their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, instead of the US, despite having matches scheduled in Los Angeles and Seattle. He clarified, “We also made it clear that they would have to leave that evening. That’s not undue stress when you think about National Football League, the NFL – teams will often take cross-country flights right after the game is finished with. “And if you look at the US national team, after their trip to Seattle for their second match that they played against Australia, they left right after that match to go back to Orange county, a very similar flight time to what the Iranians did there. And then for the Seattle match with the Iranians, we allowed them to come in two days earlier, as it had been smooth moving in there.”
Giuliani remarked, “So for a supply-demand perspective, it’s just out of whack. There’s just so much demand to come to the United States to watch the World Cup.” He pointed out that after the US national team’s match against Australia in Seattle, they returned immediately to Orange County, a journey comparable to that of the Iranians.
As the tournament draws to a close, Giuliani, the son of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, proclaimed it a historic and economic triumph, reporting over 6.5 million fans attended, nearly doubling the previous record of 3.5 million set during the 1994 World Cup in the US.
He acknowledged Trump’s concerns about elevated ticket prices but noted that FIFA had received over 500 million ticket requests for just 7 million available tickets. “There was a lot of talk before about, well, the president is not welcoming or whatever the talk was,” he stated. He added that approximately 4,547 tickets per match were set aside for US military veterans.
Giuliani highlighted that the administration had facilitated entry for millions of legal visitors without jeopardizing security. More than 5 million ESTA applications were processed in the first half of the fiscal year for the 19 qualifying ESTA countries. He noted substantial reductions in B-1 and B-2 visa interview wait times, dropping from 300 days to less than two weeks in Buenos Aires and from over 600 days in Brazil to under a month.
He remarked, “What I can tell you is: I think the president is one of the most welcoming hosts I can imagine for this World Cup.”
The tournament has set new records for football broadcasting in the US, with an estimated 1.3 billion viewers globally watching the US team’s opening match against Paraguay, according to FIFA, and a staggering 2.7 billion viewers tuning in for the Argentina-Cape Verde match. Giuliani noted, “Unbelievable when you think that over a third of the world actually tuned in to watch that match,”
Coordinating the 11 US host cities required extensive federal collaboration. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI reported over 600 drones confiscated since the tournament began. Giuliani revealed there were 1,487 drone detections in temporary flight restriction zones, leading to 646 confiscations and 13 arrests.
As the tournament approaches its final matches, he expressed confidence in the US’s capability to host large-scale global events, looking ahead to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
“Soccer is no longer a future America story,” Giuliani concluded. “It’s happening right now.”
