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Live updates: Trump called FIFA chief over USA player’s red card (thehill.com)

submitted 15 hours ago by tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works to c/world@lemmy.world

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President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to discuss the red card given to Team USA’s Folarin Balogun during Wednesday night’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, an person familiar with the conversation told The Hill. Trump later cheered the reversal, calling it an “injustice.”

FIFA said its independent panel overturned the red card suspension for Monday’s game.

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[-] JenitalJouster@lemmy.zip 6 points 37 minutes ago

the red card was def harsh don’t get me wrong. balogun clearly didn’t mean to do that, but it’s understandable to preserve a level of safety in the game. you have FIFA saying at first that the FA will not rescind the red card given to balogun, then suddenly the president himself calls infantino and now the red card is suspended? come on. had this happened to belgium there would be uproar from so many americans. it is 1)insanely corrupt and 2) sets a very bad precedent cause now any country can just ask to get their bookings for players reversed. this is getting long but anyways please pirate all your world cup games!!

[-] Faithless@lemmy.world 4 points 57 minutes ago

Funny. The American ambassador in Belgium has claimed trump didn’t and wouldn’t ever do something like that

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 35 minutes ago

Well, the 2026 world cup is officially as enshittified as Don's diaper. I had a bad feeling at "hydration breaks".

[-] CptOblivius@lemmy.world 1 points 49 minutes ago

I'm conflicted. Did he try to get it overturned? Or is he trying to get credit for it? I can see him doing both. Either way the refs have been shit in almost every game.

[-] Marija@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 hours ago

Politics and sports shouldn't be mixed

[-] Greyghoster@aussie.zone 1 points 2 hours ago

The man’s a crook. FIFA knows that ignoring him would potentially cause a nasty reaction and has disgustingly been compliant.

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 1 points 28 minutes ago

Birds of a feather, and all that. I know Sepp Blatter has been taken out, but I haven't had any indication that FIFA has been cleaned up.

[-] tirateimas@lemmy.pt 7 points 7 hours ago

Infantino should give him another made up prize

[-] blackbeans@lemmy.zip 15 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

I will exitedly open up a nice Belgian beer if they can make Trump angry this Tuesday.

[-] homes@piefed.world 49 points 11 hours ago

[-] orgrinrt@lemmy.world 9 points 6 hours ago

I have to say, this is so strangely captivating, I can’t stop looking at it honestly! Weirdly in sync between the two very different approaches! I have zero idea why this is so enthralling but I couldn’t just scroll away without explicitly voicing my confused enjoyment, so peculiar

[-] prole 4 points 2 hours ago

It's prob in sync because they're both doing it in time to a song or a chant

[-] Wrufieotnak@feddit.org 4 points 5 hours ago

I think its simply empathy, both are looking like they have a fun time and we want to join them.

[-] victorz@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago

Seems like they're in front of a bunch of kids telling a story or singing a song, or something?

[-] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 1 points 27 minutes ago* (last edited 26 minutes ago)

Yep. Specifically a variation/verse on/of "The Wheels on the Bus," though I didn't watch enough of the full video to find out why there seems to be a baby on the bus?

[-] roserose56@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

https://rebootfifa.com/ please share and stop posting non-sense drama.

[-] Danarchy@lemmy.nz 16 points 10 hours ago

I’m surprised he’d intervene for a black dude

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 34 minutes ago

You mean a man in the US team sports arena of being bought and sold in markets.

[-] Zizzy 12 points 6 hours ago

You have to understand its not about intervening for a black dude. To them and other rich racist assholes, they see the players as animals there to serve them. In this case serving as entertainment. They would be just as upset if their cock fighting chicken got penalized.

[-] Aceofspades@lemmy.ca 124 points 14 hours ago

Whether the red card was bullshit or not it irrelevant. Sports fans everywhere know that shit calls get made. The issue is that a sitting president called up his buddy who happens to be the president of FIFA and had it overturned. That is fucking insane.

[-] Furbag@pawb.social 1 points 6 minutes ago

I feel like it would have been overturned regardless, as it was an egregiously bad call, but I agree that Trump should have plenty of better things to fill up his schedule with than calling up the FIFA president to complain about a red card in a game of footie. It's a bad look, because now it looks like Trump had a hand in influencing the decision and the fairness and integrity of the game is called into question.

[-] shweddy@lemmy.world 164 points 15 hours ago

I dont even like soccer and this is fucking bullshit

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[-] khannie@lemmy.world 33 points 12 hours ago

Unfortunately anything beyond this point is tainted. The only thing that can save this is the USA coach deliberately not fielding Balogun.

[-] moustachio@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

The card was absurd in the first place, they absolutely should field Balogun.

FIFA is a comically corrupt organization; of course it’s going to do shit like this, if you don’t like it stop watching world cups and supporting FIFA. Otherwise you’re just whining the clown show didn’t perform the act you wanted it to.

[-] Pringles@sopuli.xyz 14 points 6 hours ago

Just because it was accidental doesn’t mean it wasn’t a red card.

[-] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 31 minutes ago

we either have rules or we don't. Otherwise, we will be second guessing ref calls with social media polling of fanboys.

[-] moustachio@lemmy.world 1 points 21 minutes ago* (last edited 21 minutes ago)

FIFA doesn’t have rules. This isn’t even the first time it happened; Ronaldo this tournament and the 1962 world cups . Messi didn’t get carded for something worse, and Balogun did. The refs make it up as they go.

Europeans need to stop supporting FIFA… but they won’t because they’re completely fine with turning a blind eye for its corruption.

[-] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 minutes ago

What Messi did was not worse.

You should look at the video, they both do something similar at the beginning, but they diverge sharply.

Messi should have been carded, but he didn’t do anything worse than balogun.

The part where balloons foot lands on the other players ankle is where it goes from a yellow to a red. It was reckless and could have seriously injured another player.

[-] moustachio@lemmy.world 1 points 32 minutes ago

Except for when Messi did worse… in fact wasn’t even a yellow card. Imagine defending FIFA’s clown show. Europeans really need to acknowledge: World Cup is an absolute joke, as long as FIFA runs it.

Whining about what’s fair is pathetic when you support such a shitty corrupt organizations.

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this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2026

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