Political Interference? FIFA Balogun Suspension Sparks Fury as U.S. Attempts to Make World Cup History

A heavy cloud of controversy is hanging over Monday night’s Round of 16 World Cup match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, and it isn’t going away anytime soon after President Trump inserted himself into the tournament’s biggest drama.FIFA’s last-minute decision on Sunday to suspend American striker Folarin Balogun’s mandatory one-game red card suspension has drawn international condemnation. Critics are blasting soccer’s governing body for abandoning long-established regulations and for bowing to extraordinary political pressure from the Trump Administration.Early Monday, the Union of European Football Associations, European soccer’s governing body, issued a statement saying suspending the automatic ban, “crossed a red line” that threatens the fundamental integrity of the sport.“Football, like any other sport, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest, and transparent competition,” the statement read. “Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case, not. A minimum suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions . . . We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable decision.”The Royal Belgian Football Association called the decision “astonishing” and a direct violation of FIFA’s own tournament regulations. Belgium manager Rudi Garcia quipped, “I didn’t know that at the World Cup, the 5th of July is now April 1st – April Fool’s Days.”A victory Monday night would send the United States to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. A sellout crowd of more than 66,000 paying resale ticket prices as high as $8,000 are expected to attend. But instead of focusing on the match, Mr. Balogun’s availability is being viewed as a political favor due to heavy involvement by the Trump Administration.White House sources confirmed that President Trump took the extraordinary step of personally calling FIFA President Gianni Infantino to request a review of the red card Mr. Balogun received during the Round of 32 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday.“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Mr. Trump explained during a media gathering on Monday. “I’m good at this stuff. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching in the face that would be different.”Andrew Giuliani, the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force Executive Director, alerted the President to the situation minutes after Mr. Balogun was sent off from Wednesday’s game with about 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Mr. Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and senior U.S. Soccer Federation officials reportedly had watched the match in person and immediately activated a plan to challenge the on-field ruling. While U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared and submitted its appeal to FIFA, the White House offered to make its attorneys available to assist with any legal analysis if needed. Mr. Trump phoned Mr. Infantino, who made no promises to his good friend to whom he presented the FIFA Peace Prize to in December.But on Sunday, FIFA announced it was utilizing Article 27 of its disciplinary code to suspend Mr. Balogun’s ban for a probationary period of one year, rendering him eligible to play.FIFA pointed to a similar probationary reprieve allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to compete in Portugal’s opening match of the World Cup after receiving a red card in a previous non-World Cup match. Yet, since yellow and red cards were introduced at the 1970 World Cup, no player had ever been sent off and allowed to play in their team’s very next match.Moments after FIFA’s reversal, Mr. Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to celebrate, writing, “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”He backed FIFA’s decision again on Monday. “If they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe among the best players on the team to play, I think it would have had a big stain.”Mr. Trump insisted he didn’t demand Mr. Infantino change the ruling. “I can’t tell him what to do,” Mr. Trump said. “I don’t think he made the decision. A committee made the decision, and they made the right decision. Number one, it wasn’t a foul and you want to see the best players.”USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised the decision while distancing himself from the political maneuvering. “I was not involved,” he said. “This is good for football, to celebrate that if an unfair thing happens from a decision that is in slow motion, which is not the reality of what happened on the pitch—you can reverse it.”To this point, the U.S. team had avoided being embroiled in much of the political issues that have surrounded the World Cup. Unlike the Summer and Winter Olympics where American athletes were ridiculed on social media for offering their political opinions, the U.S. soccer team has not been pulled into inquiries about their stances on the war in the Middle East or the immigration policies of the Trump Administration.Yet, here we are.The RBFA said it continues to investigate all options, “in order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament.”FIFA said the decision was made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but did not say whether the decision was put to a vote.If the United States defeats Belgium, it would be just the second American team in the country’s history to reach the quarterfinals where they would face the winner of Portugal and Spain.

Political Interference? FIFA Balogun Suspension Sparks Fury as U.S. Attempts to Make World Cup History

Political Interference? FIFA Balogun Suspension Sparks Fury as U.S. Attempts to Make World Cup History

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