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The Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed its full support for the Brazilian referee on Monday Raphael Klaus, who showed a red card to United States striker Folarin BalogunIn response to US President Donald Trump’s latest accusations, he emphasized that the referee has “a career full of technical excellence, ethical behavior and absolute respect for football.”
The Spanish “Marca” newspaper reports.The Brazilian Football Confederation issued a statement to the Brazilian media defending referee Rafael Klaus, stressing that he is considered one of the most famous referees in the world and that his professional career does not include any incident that would call into question his integrity or cast any doubt.
The Brazilian confederation also confirmed that Klaus is world-renowned as one of the best referees still competing in matches, stating that “throughout his career there has been no element that damages his reputation or favors any doubt”.
The Sao Paulo state football federation, to which Klaus belongs, also announced its “unconditional” support for the referee, saying what he had been subjected to was nothing more than “unfortunate suggestions that seek to call into question his integrity without any basis”.
The federation stressed that Klaus has an unblemished reputation built on “ethics, seriousness, commitment and artistic excellence”, stressing that his professional career has never witnessed any “incident” that raised doubts about it.
The 46-year-old referee has been selected to officiate two World Cup matches and has officiated the 2024 Copa América final, in addition to officiating seven Sao Paulo state championship finals, the federation said.
The official stances came after Trump, who criticized the Brazilian referee’s decision to send off US forward Folarin Balogun in the Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, before the penalty was later overturned.
After the match, which ended in a 2-0 win for the home team, Trump revealed that he had asked FIFA to review the case because the Monaco striker’s interference was not considered a foul, describing Klaus as “a bit questionable”.
The US president said. “I thought it was about two big athletes running at full speed and they bumped into each other and crashed into each other, and it wasn’t about one person hitting the other in the face or anything like that.”
He added: “This decision, which seems a little questionable if you look at his record… I don’t want to say it because I don’t like to stir up controversy, but it’s very questionable.”
The decision to overturn the suspension of Balogun, the World Cup’s top scorer with three goals, sparked widespread controversy as continental federations such as the European Football Association believed the move challenged the “integrity and credibility” of the World Cup.
“When the enforcement of the rules is no longer guaranteed by those responsible for their protection, the integrity of the game becomes questionable and the credibility of the tournament is damaged,” describing FIFA’s decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustified.”
