FIFA reaches a new low, with Trump again a gloating winner
Oliver Brown
If it wasn’t extraordinary enough that Gianni Infantino had more visits to the Oval Office than Keir Starmer, a breathtakingly heavy-handed World Cup decision would come with political overtones.
Former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who scored three goals for the United States in this tournament and guided the host country to the last 16, was not supposed to be able to participate in the huge match against Belgium in Seattle on Monday night.
But then his contentious red card ban during the victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina was suspended in a very convenient time, allowing US president Donald Trump to mark the weekend of July 4th festivities with a final and unexpected celebration. The White House’s official response? “USA-USA-USA.”
Very subtle. But this jaw-dropping move didn’t have much nuance; Infantino’s FIFA was reinventing its own rules to please Trump, disgust Belgium and save the Americans’ most influential player.
While Trump has so far remained strangely silent on the massive sporting spectacles taking place under his watch, he has not hesitated to extract maximum political capital from the latest developments of events. “Thank you for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice,” he said on Truth Social, preserving the real “special relationship” that is his sickeningly intimate dynamic with Infantino.
These schemes are stinking on every level. FIFA’s disciplinary rules clearly state that if a player is sent off, this will result in an automatic suspension from the next match.
This process has been followed for the other 11 red cards in the World Cup so far, and because of the huge interest in the USA’s potential advancement to the quarter-finals, an exemption has been found for Balogun in the form of a now rare “suspended suspension”.
Thanks to this minor wrinkle, the 25-year-old’s one-match ban will continue for another 12 months, giving him the chance to repeat his rich goal-scoring form at Belgium’s expense. The Belgian federation said it was “surprised”, while its Bosnian counterpart described the reversal as “shameful”. You can only marvel at their restraint.
Unfortunately, the story is even worse than that; Reports emerged that Trump personally called Infantino last Wednesday and asked him to review the sanction. And look, FIFA acquiesced to this situation, reflecting its model of appeasing the president at every opportunity.
Despite Trump later choosing to bombard one of the World Cup participating countries, the dogged Infantino has already awarded him the organisation’s inaugural “peace award”.
As for Infantino, there’s nothing so toe-curlingly insulting about his case for courting the leader of the free world. And now we have one of the most miserable moments yet, when Balogun realizes that he has been delayed just in time and exactly as Trump wanted.
When you examine the finer details of Balogun’s escape, you realize that the only other player to have been granted the same leniency recently is Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese superstar’s last World Cup appeared to be in jeopardy after his elbow came into contact with Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea last November, leading to a three-match ban that threatened to ban his country from their first two group matches.
But then FIFA, ever ready to help, came to the rescue, using the rarely invoked Article 27 to ensure the world’s most followed player on Instagram would take center stage at the grand unveiling.
It is arrogant to exaggerate the rules and the identities of those to whom FIFA makes exceptions. In 2024, Infantino shamelessly took to the podium in Florida to announce that Inter Miami would compete in the Club World Cup; whereas the reigning Major League Soccer champion Columbus Crew seemed to be the more deserving candidate.
But Miami had an invaluable asset that Columbus lacked: Lionel Messi. From Messi to Ronaldo to Balogun, FIFA’s logic carries the same message: Whatever you do, don’t kill the golden goose.
Some of the usual acolytes applauded, of course. Rio Ferdinand, who is so loyal to FIFA these days that he was first choice in the World Cup draw in Washington last December, responded to Balogun’s appointment with three clapping hands emojis. Everyone should be free to react with absolute disdain.
Telegraph, London
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