I’ve been ignoring the World Cup, not being a soccer (football) fan, so I’ve only been peripherally aware that one of the stars of the USA team had been given a red card, which presumably disqualifies him from the next game, or maybe the tournament. I recall even seeing a CNN headline stating that the red card would not be withdrawn or cancelled.
But, to tell the truth, this is not a big surprise:
‘Unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable’: Soccer world stunned by FIFA’s Balogun decision [CNN]
More detail here:
If you missed this news break yesterday, here is a quick breakdown to catch you up.
During the USA’s Round of 32 game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, striker Folarin Balogun was sent off for an accidental foul on an opponent. He didn’t mean to do what he did, but his foot did rake down a defender’s leg which could have caused a serious injury.
Anyway, off he went and FIFA pointed to a rule in its laws that stated Balogun would miss the next game as he serves his mandatory one-match suspension. US Soccer said it couldn’t appeal the ban and started working up a plan on how to beat Belgium tonight without its main goalscorer.
Only yesterday, FIFA decided to suspend the one-match ban for a year, allowing Balogun to play the Round of 16 match and the rest of the tournament. As soon as the news broke, most people guessed what might have happened. And it appears they were right.
Donald Trump thanked FIFA for “reversing a great injustice” on Truth Social and a source familiar with the matter told CNN that the president spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the call. [CNN/Sports]
The crowd stares in disbelief.
And if the USA team wins?
Trump will take the credit. He used his position to pressure a vulnerable official, the FIFA President, into giving the USA team special treatment, and, to his mind, cheating and lying are simply stratagems to be employed at all times to gain advantage.
He doesn’t think about long term consequences, which is the leading reason for being honest, for following rules. In this scenario, the world becomes more and more embittered towards the USA, and Trump will ignore it, not recognize it, anything to avoid accepting a critique of his behavior that should have been delivered by his parents. The value of the process is zero, in his mind; everything’s a trophy for him to collect, and the value of the process is disregarded.
So now his fingerprints are all over the World Cup.
