As one who had followed the World Cup games assiduously, I was deeply disappointed and disturbed that Donald Trump weighed in on a decision made by a game official.
I’ve seen the play several times in which U.S. striker Folarin Balogun was issued a red card in the July 1 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, automatically suspending him for one game. I thought the call, like many of them I’ve witnessed in other sports, may have been flagrant and challenged, but that’s for the officials to determine, not an outsider.
Trump intervened and called FIFA President Gianni Infantino, charging that the call was “horrible” and “unfair.” Although the president claims he did not pressure FIFA’s disciplinary committee to change the call, they did, and thus Balogun was allowed to play in Monday night’s game against Belgium, which resulted in a devastating 4-1 loss, eliminating the USMNT from the competition.
Had U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino kept Balogun on the bench, Trump’s influence one way or another would have been negated. If they had won with Balogun playing in a significant way, the team would have been placed in an uncomfortable position for the rest of the games.
Moreover, with or without the video replay of the incident, the call belonged to the officials on the field. Now we have cameras on the baseball field in which a team can challenge a ball or strike, so human error to some extent is corrected, but a judgment call is something that can be argued until doomsday, or until an angered president intercedes, huh?
There are sure to be other calls that will be controversial and roil fans. There is nothing new about this. What is new is the intervention of a powerful leader stepping into the fray. And we are naïve to think this had no bearing on the reversal when you consider the U.S. is one of the host nations, and two of the others with teams have been eliminated.
Hey, how about a red card for Trump? Let’s sideline him from future contests, in sports and certainly politically.
