Explained: Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red-card reversal, Trump’s phone calls and Fifa’s rationale

The surprise move deeming the US striker eligible to play came after the American president reached out to the governing body to appeal for the change

Donald Trump has been conspicuous by his absence so far at the World Cup, but unusually he may have been making his presence felt behind the scenes with some quiet diplomacy.

In addition to failing to attend a game, despite the USA's impressive progress to the last 16, Trump had not mentioned the tournament on social media since offering some bland recognition of record attendance figures on 28 June. All that changed on Sunday when he took to Truth Social to thank Fifa for its highly unusual decision to lift striker Folarin Balogun's ban from Monday's last-16 tie against Belgium.