Trump: “I didn’t even know what the hell a red card was”
Donald Trump: “I saw the play. I’m a person who loves sports, I’ve been a good athlete and I really understand sports very well. Very well. And that wasn’t a foul. It wasn’t even an infraction. They were two kids running at full speed and they collided. You can’t take your foot and place it perfectly on another guy’s foot while you’re going at that speed. They were two great athletes who got tangled up.
And this referee, who’s a bit suspicious, if you check his background… I don’t want to say it because I don’t like creating controversy, but he’s very suspicious. If you want, I’ll provide you with his background. He made a decision that no one could believe. Even from the other side they were saying: ‘We got lucky.’ He didn’t do anything wrong. And he’s our best player, or one of our best players. He gave him a red card. I didn’t even know what that meant. I didn’t think it meant much. Then I started hearing that it meant he couldn’t play the next game, at least the next one. I said: ‘Damn, that’s a big deal.’ If it had happened to another player it would have been unfair, but when they take away your best player, or almost… because we have great players, but if they tell you he can’t play, it’s very unfair.
One thing is to penalize someone during a game. But how do you penalize him for a game that hasn’t even been played yet? It’s very unfair. You can’t do that.
Yes, I asked FIFA for a review. I spoke to a very respected man and, by the way, whose level of respect has increased tenfold. But all I did was ask for a review, because I didn’t think it was a foul. And, again, I’m good at these things. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought they were two great athletes who collided and got tangled up. It wasn’t one player punching someone in the face or something like that. That would have been different.
I think it would have been terrible if they hadn’t allowed an important player, maybe the best, maybe one of the best on the team, to play. I believe it would have been a big stain. And I only expressed that feeling. I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do. And I don’t think it was him who made the decision. I think it was a committee that made it. And they made the right decision because, first, it wasn’t a foul. And then you want to see a game with the best players.
You don’t want to say: ‘How would you feel if we took out Messi? He bumped into someone, so we take him out.’ Or Ronaldo. Ronaldo collided with someone, so we take him out of the game. Or Harry Kane: ‘Harry, we’re taking you out of the game because you hit someone a little harder.’ You can’t do that.
If they had excluded him, I think it really would have stained this incredible thing. We need to have our best players on the field. Belgium has a great team, by the way. We need to have our best players and they need to have theirs. If we win or lose, it has to be fair. Otherwise, imagine losing him and then losing the game: it would be a terrible thing.
I think they made a really brilliant decision. The referee’s decision was horrible. And no one is talking about this. They’re talking about the red card as if it were normal. No one is talking about the referee’s decision to give the red. I didn’t know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said: ‘You’re kidding.’ This raises his hand and your best player can’t play the next week or the next game. I said: ‘Wow, that’s a huge power. It’s terrible.’ Then I looked at his background and it wasn’t so fantastic.
If Belgium wins the game, it can be very proud of it. If it had won with one of our players absent, it would have been a different feeling. You can’t do that. I’m very happy”
