White House says Keir Starmer’s intervention over England v Mexico game ‘more egregious’ than Donald Trump’s Balogun red card call
Sir Keir Starmer’s intervention on the kick-off time of the Mexico-England match has been described as “much more egregious” than President Donald Trump’s lobbying of FIFA over the red card incident, according to a senior White House official.
Andrew Giuliani, managing director of the White House’s World Cup Task Force, made the comparison, saying the Prime Minister’s actions made more sense.
Sir Keir is understood to support representations from the Football Association to prevent FIFA from bringing forward the kick-off time of the game in Mexico City from 18.00 to 12.00.
Such a change would seriously disrupt England’s preparations for the last 16 matches at high altitude.
Giuliani suggested this outweighed President Trump’s call to his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino, in which he requested a “review” of Folarin Balogun’s dismissal.
The US striker’s penalty was suspended by the FIFA disciplinary committee following the intervention.
“I would see (Starmer’s involvement) as a much more dire situation when you consider that the reason for potentially bringing the game back was that three Mexicans lost their lives after the 32nd round (beating Ecuador) because it was so late and over a million Mexicans were coming (downtown),” Giuliani said. Time Radio.
“The reason for the discussions was life and safety. I think that’s where the discussion needs to be; less about the game on the field.
“One (intervention) is life and safety, the other is playing on the field. I think you can see a very clear difference in that.”
FIFA faced accusations of political interference in the Balogun case, which is strictly prohibited in its own statutes, and Infantino issued a statement emphasizing that his organization’s committees are completely independent.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman sought to draw a distinction between the two incidents when asked about the matter on Tuesday, saying: “The Prime Minister has been clear that he supports the statements made by the Football Association about the practical consequences of a proposed change of schedule for the team’s preparations.
“The final decision on fixture timings remained a matter for FIFA.
“But as we have repeatedly said, decisions regarding disciplinary matters and the application of the rules of the game rest with FIFA and the relevant football authorities.”
Giuliani again defended the President’s decision to intervene with Balogun, saying: “Here’s the truth about President Trump. President Trump wants fair play.”
“Fair play at the ballot box, fair play on the field. I think they made the right final decision (suspending Balogun’s ban).
“Hats off to Belgium. The chairman said: ‘If Belgium win and they are the better team, then you take off.’ “We had our best players on the field, they had their best players and they were the better team on Monday, it wasn’t even close.”
