Donald Trump used a FIFA red card to jokingly "book" members of the press... moments after learning its purpose.
The US President held a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Oval Office yesterday, when Mr Infantino offered Trump a set of yellow and red cards.
"In soccer we have referees, and they have cards. A yellow card is a warning. When you want to kick out someone..." said Mr Infantino, when Mr Trump took the red card and tried to fling it jokingly at reporters and photographers.
"That's very good, I like that," Trump said, tossing the pile of cards aside.
Donald Trump discovers what a red card is
The United States is to share the World Cup with Canada and Mexico in 2026 - the first time it has hosted since 1994.
Mr Trump added in a statement to the press: "We have won a very important event, the World Cup, and will be hosting it with Mexico and Canada. It's one of the biggest sporting events in the world. Soccer has come such a long way... I guess you call it football - maybe at some point they'll change the name - it's working very well either way.
"Soccer has to be one of the fastest growing sports in the world," he said.
People took to social media to discuss the exchange with many mocking the president.
One person said: "Make America great again and give yourself a red card."
Another added: "Too bad that red card doesn’t eject trump from office and end the joke."
A third wrote: "Trump gives press the red card - Trump doesn’t even know how to use a Red Card!! He thinks you throw it."
The jovial exchange comes during one Mr Trump's most heavy-handed weeks of attacking the "fake news media".
Earlier the same day he accused Google of rigging search results, having googled himself and found only negative news.
The President tweeted: "Google search results for “Trump News” shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of results on “Trump News” are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see."
Mr Trump's administration has already been connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exploited algorithms to tailor messages to users on Google, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
