That's All We Need
Donald Trump cheats with FIFA's assistance.
The last thing I need is you
And you and your black-and-white-views,
Pushing me over,
Making a bad day worse
What are you a curse
Hey, why can't you see, on days like these,
The last thing I need is...
Songwriters: Cathy Dennis / Alex Callier / Paul Alexander Campbell.
Red Card Recinded
In this World Cup, if a player receives a red card, they must immediately leave the field, and they are banned from the next game.
It’s not ambiguous.
Sometimes it can seem unjust, especially if it happens to someone in the team you support, but those are the rules, and they’re the same for everybody. Or at least they were until Donald Trump picked up the phone to call FIFA to express his dissatisfaction with the ban imposed on US striker and standout player Folarin Balogun after a red card in their win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
At a White House press conference, Trump confirmed his approach to FIFA, saying, “I asked for a review from FIFA,” because “it wasn’t a foul,” and adding, “All I did was ask for a review; I didn’t say you have to do this.”
Yeah right.
Realistically, the world has learned that if Trump doesn’t get his own way, bad things happen. By and large, world leaders and other powerful people choose to comply with his wishes rather than risk the wrath of the man-baby.
Trump continued, “We’re going to have a full team, and Belgium is going to have a full team, and you know what? If they beat us, then they can be really proud. The other way, if they beat us ... I say it was rigged, just like the election was rigged in 2020.” So no pressure, then; if the red card stands, it will be akin to electoral fraud that didn’t happen, but that led to an armed insurrection.
So Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, just rolled over. Which wasn’t exactly a surprise, given that it’s probably the most corrupt entity on the planet, whether awarding tournaments to Qatar and Russia or giving Donald Trump his preposterous and entirely unwarranted FIFA Peace Prize.
FIFA had said that US Soccer had no right of appeal, but then announced that Balogun’s ban had been lifted on a 12-month probationary period, meaning the US player was being treated differently from every other player in the tournament, leaving many in the football world with a very bitter taste.
UEFA, the European game’s governing body, accused FIFA of crossing “a red line” by making an “incomprehensible and unjustifiable” decision to rescind Balogun’s automatic one-match ban, which it claimed undermined “the integrity of the game and the credibility of the competition”. I posted:
Are there no limits to FIFA’s corruption, rescinding a US red card for Trump? What happens when America loses? Will they overturn that too?
Julie said, “Do you think the trophy has already been engraved?”
Jackie wrote, “'USA president getting a red card cancelled' was not an option on my 2026 bingo card. Hope whoever gets to the final game boos the shit out of Trump and the FIFA president.”
Alison commented, “Words fail me. It’s cheating, plain and simple. Go Belgium!” In fact, many people indicated they would be backing Belgium.
If the US team wanted to maintain any integrity in the eyes of the footballing world, they would not select Balogun to play or include him in the match-day squad. But I suppose their manager would then be labelled a traitor by Trump and forced to “resign”.
I imagine every neutral on the planet will be backing Belgium today, not for football reasons but because one team is representing bullying and corruption and the other, plucky little Belgium, will hopefully kick their butts.
It’ll be like watching the UK enter Eurovision a few years back, when it didn’t matter how well their representative performed; they got no points from any other countries and were ostracised for their behaviour.
Needless to say, Trump also attacked the referee, Brazilian Raphael Claus, calling him “very suspect” and saying he had made “a call that nobody could believe.”
He’s like that embarrassing dad who yells abuse at the referee from the sidelines, except he doesn’t stop there; he marches onto the field and stuffs money into the referee’s pockets until he gets the decision he wants.
The most depressing thing about this is that Trump thinks he has won. He has pulled the strings and given his country an unfair advantage. What sort of jerk celebrates a victory when everyone else knows they cheated?
Trump only wants to win, and playing by the rules is for losers - what a wonderful message at the world’s most-watched sporting event.
Have a good Tuesday, folks, and the game kicks off at midday NZT if you want to tune in and cheer for Belgium.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
To end today, Trump doesn’t deserve a song this good, but here is Hooverphonic from Belgium with The Last Thing I Need Is You.
From Robert Reich this morning : “How can anyone ever again trust that the United States has won a game fair and square? How can the fine athletes representing us rejoice in a victory when the president of the United States has used his political power to change a referee’s call?...Bullies who abuse their power by altering the rules of a game to favor themselves end up spoiling the game for everyone. They destroy the trust on which any system — be it a World Cup competition, or a political race, or a market economy — ultimately depends.
Now we have a World Cup in which an American president has put his thumb on the scale. As a result, he has forever tarnished the integrity of the game….. and also the integrity of America.”
I look forward to the player foregoing their ill-gotten playing chance or the coach refusing to play him and Belgium eliminating the US.