President says he asked FIFA to review a red-card call, calls the decision 'horrible'

During the Oval Office event's question-and-answer, reporters asked the President about his phone call to FIFA president Gianni (Johnny) Infantino over a red-card decision. The President said he requested a review because he believed the on-field incident "wasn't even a foul" and described the play as two players running into each other and becoming entangled.

The President said he had asked for a review and described his call to Infantino as a request, not an order: "I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul." He criticized the referee's previous calls and said a top player should not be ruled out of a subsequent game by what he described as a mistaken red card.

Reporters asked whether the President was concerned about setting a precedent for powerful figures intervening in sporting decisions. The President replied that he "had nothing to do with the decision" but that he asked for the review because he believed the call was wrong and that Infantino "is a smart tough man" who handled the matter.

The exchange also included broader remarks from the President about the success of the tournament and the large viewership; he compared the event's popularity to other major sporting events and defended his request for review as a call to fairness in play.

The President's account is his description of events at the time of the briefing; the transcript records the President saying he requested a review and criticizing the referee's prior calls. The event did not include a statement from FIFA or independent confirmation of the review's outcome.