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Donald Trump reportedly called FIFA president Gianni Infantino in order to get FIFA to review the red card that USA player Folarin Balogun recieved in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ordinarily, Balogun's red card would render him ineligible for Team USA's next game against Belgium in the round of 16. However, a special session of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided to suspend the red card, allowing Balogun to play against Belgium.
Belgium is big mad. The conventional wisdom in the immediate aftermath of the red card was that this was not a reviewable decision. This is a good reminder that nothing is ever final until it happens.
I've been seeing talk about VAR having been improperly used in this case, and how that's the unspoken justification (because FIFA doesn't want to admit a mistake). Any truth to that?
As I understand it there really was some kind of irregularity with how VAR was used, I believe that they used slo-mo or still frames in a context where it isn’t allowed (because all contact looks worse slowed down) or something similar to that, but they’re not hiding that, it’s in the official FIFA statement. It also was an extremely harsh call, and Messi had done the exact same thing (worse, honestly) in a previous game and wasn’t even given a yellow. They all-but-never overturn decisions within a tournament though, so imho, that’s all probably the fig leaf and Trump contacting Infantino is the real reason. I think the only other time this has happened was way back in the 60s? They did wipe away a multi-game suspension for violent conduct for Ronaldo to let him play in this very tournament, but FWIW that red card happened before the tournament so it isn’t quite as egregious/comical.
I was texting with a friend about the overturned suspension earlier today, and literally during the act of sending him a meme about “Trump called up FIFA to make this happen lol” it was confirmed that, in fact, that was exactly what happened. What a time to be alive.
Anyway, culture-war-wise I haven’t seen any truly negative opinions about the decision from Americans, certainly not from American soccer fans. Everyone I’ve seen or talked to has been amused and/or happy. It is admittedly kinda dirty but, well, it’s FIFA. Even the liberal NYT commenters on an article I read seem to at most be saying “I wish it hadn’t happened like this but I’ll take it.” Hell, even my mom (who utterly despises Trump and doesn’t care that much about sports) isn’t too broken up about it. That red card was total BS anyway, so this is how it always should’ve been.
After the red card and before this happened, the general sentiment from my mostly liberal social circles was "What's the point of having a corrupt government if they won't step in at times like this?"
Now everyone is pretty happy.
It's interesting that Trump is clearly pro-America-getting-into-soccer- and as an MLS fan(and rooting for a team that has three players for the national team), I have to sympathize- even though being into soccer is my least red tribe trait(no, speaking French doesn't count, it's Cajun French and not metropolitan), Trump liking it makes up for retarded Iran adventurism in my book.
I think Trump would have the same reaction if it was darts. It isn’t soccer itself but America winning.
He just praised Harry Kane, too, though. I think he genuinely likes soccer, or at least feels some fondness for the game. He played soccer in his school days.
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