So this pretty much ensures the US is gonna lose right?
Seems like Trump going to the Knicks game all over again.
666haha on
Again this is nothing new for fifa but it is really ugly and disgusting. I didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error but removing a suspension bc of political pressure is even worse.
I will note that Ronaldo and others had their suspensions also suspended so they could play at the tournament which is also bullshit. But I do think doing it during the tournament is worse
REXwarrior on
It’s ridiculous that FIFA has no appeal process for such an impactful decision. There’s been multiple instances of similar and worse “tackles” that haven’t even gotten yellow cards this tournament but a ref that’s previously been investigated for match fixing can just decide that a star player is out for a game and a half and teams just have to deal with it?
franssie1994 on
So sad really enjoyed the USA games I watched so did a lot of other football fans I know, now they have probably lost all sympathy and everyone will support Belgium
Phallic_Entity on
Strange he’d do this for Balogun given the debate on birth citizenship, the guy is only American because his mum was deemed too pregnant to fly back to the UK by airline staff.
Walpole2019 on
Donald Trump reportedly lobbied FIFA to lift a suspension on Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, a key player within the US’s football squad, ahead of the team’s match in the Round of 16 against Belgium. The suspension, which happened after a VAR review showed that he stood on the foot of Tarik Muharemovic in the US’s match in the Round of 32, was initially ruled to not be appealable, has been lifted under Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, allowing him to compete but maintaining the red card, including the potential for future discipline in international matches should he commit another such offense for the next year. The decision has been directly condemned by the Royal Belgian Football Association, which has stated that the move was illegal and that it would seek a means of appealing for it.
I strongly considered marking this as US-specific, but felt that the ramifications (ruling made to benefit US in match against Belgium, pressure from government on global sporting institution) was significant enough to mark this as global instead. I am personally split on this; when moving beyond my pure bias, Balogun’s red carding seems to have been more suspect than many, but the fact that direct government pressure was the deciding factor makes it a lot more troubling a move, especially as the US is the primary host of this World Cup, and leaves room to question just how far FIFA will go to shape the World Cup in America’s favour.
samhit_n on
Ronaldo getting his suspension rescinded set the precedent for something like this to happen.
bouncyfrog on
Engaging in blatant corruption with zero shame, respect.
modularpeak2552 on
Unironically in favor of anything that further degrades FIFA as an organization, fuck those people.
12 Comments
Rare Trump W
Least corrupt Trump-FIFA interaction
So this pretty much ensures the US is gonna lose right?
Seems like Trump going to the Knicks game all over again.
Again this is nothing new for fifa but it is really ugly and disgusting. I didn’t think it was a clear and obvious error but removing a suspension bc of political pressure is even worse.
I will note that Ronaldo and others had their suspensions also suspended so they could play at the tournament which is also bullshit. But I do think doing it during the tournament is worse
It’s ridiculous that FIFA has no appeal process for such an impactful decision. There’s been multiple instances of similar and worse “tackles” that haven’t even gotten yellow cards this tournament but a ref that’s previously been investigated for match fixing can just decide that a star player is out for a game and a half and teams just have to deal with it?
So sad really enjoyed the USA games I watched so did a lot of other football fans I know, now they have probably lost all sympathy and everyone will support Belgium
Strange he’d do this for Balogun given the debate on birth citizenship, the guy is only American because his mum was deemed too pregnant to fly back to the UK by airline staff.
Donald Trump reportedly lobbied FIFA to lift a suspension on Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, a key player within the US’s football squad, ahead of the team’s match in the Round of 16 against Belgium. The suspension, which happened after a VAR review showed that he stood on the foot of Tarik Muharemovic in the US’s match in the Round of 32, was initially ruled to not be appealable, has been lifted under Article 27 of the FIFA disciplinary code, allowing him to compete but maintaining the red card, including the potential for future discipline in international matches should he commit another such offense for the next year. The decision has been directly condemned by the Royal Belgian Football Association, which has stated that the move was illegal and that it would seek a means of appealing for it.
I strongly considered marking this as US-specific, but felt that the ramifications (ruling made to benefit US in match against Belgium, pressure from government on global sporting institution) was significant enough to mark this as global instead. I am personally split on this; when moving beyond my pure bias, Balogun’s red carding seems to have been more suspect than many, but the fact that direct government pressure was the deciding factor makes it a lot more troubling a move, especially as the US is the primary host of this World Cup, and leaves room to question just how far FIFA will go to shape the World Cup in America’s favour.
Ronaldo getting his suspension rescinded set the precedent for something like this to happen.
Engaging in blatant corruption with zero shame, respect.
Unironically in favor of anything that further degrades FIFA as an organization, fuck those people.