- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,190,600
- Reaction score
- 59
FIFA's stunning decision to reverse the red-card suspension of the United States' Folarin Balogun at the men's World Cup sent shockwaves throughout the international soccer world on Sunday. After learning of Donald Trump's involvement in the process, cries against FIFA's apparent corruption will likely grow to be deafening.
According to Tyler Pager and Tariq Panja of the New York Times, Trump indeed made a Wednesday night phone call to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, to "review" the suspension given to Balogun over the controversial red-card decision during the United States men's soccer team's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Just over half a week later, Balogun's suspension was reversed in an unprecedented fashion, allowing him to become the first player in over 64 years to appear in a game after being ejected from a World Cup match. While it's not clear that Trump was the reason for the reversal, the connection is obvious. FIFA, predictably, did not immediately respond to the NYT's request for comment.
Let's put this another way. Regardless of whether Balogun's red card was legitimate, FIFA almost never walks back decisions made by its officials. After the red card immediately happened, FIFA even clarified there were no grounds for appeal. So, this truly doesn't happen. Well, until now.
While some measure of FIFA corruption was already apparent here, Trump's getting involved makes the optics of this Balogun decision extremely suspect, to say the least. Infantino infamously awarded Trump the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize" in early December in an unsubtle attempt to appease the United States president. It is not a stretch to connect the dots over what this Balogun decision means. It sure looks like the next episode of Infantino trying to court favor with Trump, at the expense of any remaining respect with the soccer world.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Yes, Trump called Infantino to reverse Folarin Balogun's red-card suspension
Continue reading...
According to Tyler Pager and Tariq Panja of the New York Times, Trump indeed made a Wednesday night phone call to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, to "review" the suspension given to Balogun over the controversial red-card decision during the United States men's soccer team's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Just over half a week later, Balogun's suspension was reversed in an unprecedented fashion, allowing him to become the first player in over 64 years to appear in a game after being ejected from a World Cup match. While it's not clear that Trump was the reason for the reversal, the connection is obvious. FIFA, predictably, did not immediately respond to the NYT's request for comment.
Let's put this another way. Regardless of whether Balogun's red card was legitimate, FIFA almost never walks back decisions made by its officials. After the red card immediately happened, FIFA even clarified there were no grounds for appeal. So, this truly doesn't happen. Well, until now.
While some measure of FIFA corruption was already apparent here, Trump's getting involved makes the optics of this Balogun decision extremely suspect, to say the least. Infantino infamously awarded Trump the inaugural "FIFA Peace Prize" in early December in an unsubtle attempt to appease the United States president. It is not a stretch to connect the dots over what this Balogun decision means. It sure looks like the next episode of Infantino trying to court favor with Trump, at the expense of any remaining respect with the soccer world.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Yes, Trump called Infantino to reverse Folarin Balogun's red-card suspension
Continue reading...
