Rio Ferdinand’s reaction to FIFA rescinding Folarin Balogun’s red card was nauseating. The one-time Man United legend has reduced himself to a Gianni Infantino shill – and this should be the nail in the coffin for his punditry career

There was a time when Rio Ferdinand, one of the cornerstones of a fully functioning and successful Manchester United team, could call himself an analyst.

Ferdinand saw Declan Rice as a box-to-box midfielder before any other, and he once offered a good technical assessment of how centre-backs could handle pressing.

But his sickening celebration of FIFA rescinding US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card (three clapping hands emojis) has put him in a minority beyond the USA’s own cheerleaders, sent his name out into the world as Gianni Infantino nonsense, and destroyed the professional integrity he imagined he had as a dispenser of wisdom at this World Cup.

Blowing a penny whistle on FIFA at a time when the World Cup was doing the most damage to its reputation in years was very similar to Ferdinand’s response to hosting that disastrous World Cup draw at Washington’s Kennedy Center last December.

Ferdinand hosted FIFA’s disastrous World Cup draw last December, replacing his old pal Gianni Infantino.

You may remember how this turned out for him. Ferdinand failed his sense of humor when a questioner asked him about his ability to give direction. He tends to falter when things come up that weren’t in the script he was told to read on his FIFA mission.

In 2022, no one seemed to have informed him that the deaths of workers at stadium construction sites in Qatar might come into question. Or the reptilian Infantino’s fundamental lack of confidence. Strange. He thinks that once he sells himself to FIFA, everyone will settle for his happy-clapping feathers.

Considering the massive wealth provided by her large footprint as an influencer and lifestyle guru, she doesn’t seem to need much media work.

But given the solid and clear responses from Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher, who responded in real time to the FIFA kowtowing scandal to Trump, Sunday night dealt a serious blow to his reputation and studio presence. As you may recall, Keane was also impressive with his uncompromising discussion of human rights in Qatar. Ferdinand was an apologist.

The brief spat between Ferdinand and Piers Morgan over a red card in the social media sphere on Sunday night wasn’t a terribly complicated argument – it was due to Ferdinand trending #PiersHasMoobs years ago – but Morgan can rest assured he’s on the right side of the argument.

This became increasingly clear on Monday when Trump delved deeper into the episode, where he was happy to immerse himself in “football” by confirming that he had rolled up his sleeves with ‘Janni’ – as he described Infantino – to get the USA’s best striker back into the tournament.

Trump plunged the World Cup into his usual trash-talking style by throwing a bottle of poison at the Brazilian referee who sent off Balogun.

‘He is a bit of a questionable referee if you look at his background. I don’t want to say this because I don’t like to create controversy, but I’m very skeptical. ‘I can tell you about his past if you want.’ Raphael Claus testified at the Brazilian Football Federation’s investigation into match-fixing in 2024. He was found not guilty of any crime.

Former Man United and England star Ferdinand now lives in Dubai with his wife Kate

Trump’s public admission that he collaborated with Infantino to overturn Balogun’s suspension was a humiliation for the FIFA chief

For Infantino, every word that came out of Trump’s mouth deepened his personal humiliation. The FIFA chief insisted that Balogun’s decision had nothing to do with the President’s call; However, before this intervention, FIFA sources insisted that the referee’s decision was final and there would be no appeal.

The incident tarnished a tournament that has long gone without Trump in sight or voice.

Now Pandora’s Box has been opened. France wants Michael Olise’s yellow card to be overturned. Brazil was outraged by the insult made to its own country’s referee.

Ferdinand was resolutely avoiding the topic yesterday, reserving his tweets for posts about England, an Airbnb-sponsored ‘Rio Reacts’ video of him watching one of his goals, and a post blasting the British press. A day in the life of analyst Ferdinand.