00:00I have to go back to the red card controversy.
00:03Many critics argue that the reversal created a perception of political interference in sport decision.
00:09I wonder that after this episode, do you believe that President Trump's involvement crossed the line from political support into
00:15influencing a sport decision?
00:17If not, where do you draw that line?
00:19So I think more than anything, what people probably don't understand about it is the president and Johnny, the president
00:25of FIFA, speak multiple times a week.
00:27And throughout this tournament, it's been three, four times a week.
00:30So this is a conversation that happened in the normal course of conversations for them.
00:35I point to the irregularity being the referee actually adding the VAR, utilizing the VAR in the 64th minute during
00:45a contact foul for slow motion.
00:47A FIFA referee should know that it's no time, no opportunity to be able to do that and that procedurally
00:54it was wrong.
00:55When you add that to the fact that he was questioned in a match fixing investigation for issuing irregular red
01:01cards, it was our duty and responsibility to ask questions in light of the billions of dollars that American taxpayers
01:09had put on the line here to host a World Cup that was safe, welcoming, but also full of integrity.
01:15When you say that he's suspicious, as far as the public record shows, Klaus was never a target on the
01:21investigation, only a witness, and he was never called to testify.
01:25And after the investigation, the head of the Brazilian Referees Committee publicly praised his performance.
01:30What information led the White House to conclude he was a concern?
01:33Well, that he was questioned in it, right?
01:35I mean, ultimately, that he was deposed in this.
01:39When you add that to the fact that there was an irregular red card given, right?
01:45And any FIFA referee, any top-level referee, would know that you cannot utilize the VAR in that 64th minute.
01:57Hence, the red card never should have been given.
02:00This wasn't like one of those bang-bang plays on the field where you saw it with your eye, let's
02:05say, and, you know, you have the human error.
02:08This is something that, hey, you should know if you are one of the top referees in the world that
02:14you cannot utilize slow motion in that moment.
02:17So, when you add those two facts together and you actually see that it was utilized there, we had a
02:24duty and a responsibility to ask those questions.
02:28After that match, Klaus was not in sight to another World Cup match.
02:34I wonder if there was a request or recommendation from the White House for him to...
02:39No. No request from us, not, you know, for him not doing it.
02:43Some observers noticed that in another match, an England player received similar sanctions
02:48and he was required to miss both of the quarter and same final with no exception being made.
02:53Do you believe that handling the earlier case, it created a precedent?
02:58Look, you have to ask FIFA that, I think, more than anything.
03:02But what I can tell you is Starmer actually did get involved with the match time for the round of
03:0916 during the Mexico-England match
03:11when it was asked or when it was suggested that that match time should be moved up to noon local
03:19time
03:19because after the round of 32 match, four Mexicans lost their lives in the celebration afterwards
03:27and they felt like it would be safer for the English that were in Mexico and the Mexicans there
03:33if that match time was earlier, the English government got involved in order to not change that match time.
03:42I would say that that was a much more significant scenario than anything that happened in the field
03:48when you're talking about the potential loss of life and safety.
03:53I was questioning about the red card that the England player received during the match
03:59and that made him out of the...
04:00And again, I think you'd have to ask FIFA about that, so...
04:03Okay.
04:04Thank you.
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