Well, it’s confirmed. Despite FIFA’s protests to the contrary, US President Donald Trump has confirmed his part in getting Folarin Balogun’s World Cup suspension reviewed.
The 80-year-old would not miss the opportunity to take credit for the decision, and it puts Gianni Infantino in a rather awkward position.
He and his colleagues were not tolerating accusations of outside influence from the White House, but Trump’s comments — which come hours before the US and Belgium are set to face off — serve as pretty concrete evidence.
Sky News captured his words, as he explained: “”Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man [Infantino] who is highly respected. I’m the one who got them to do it, not Biden. Biden was asleep.”
Putting the random Joe Biden shoutout to one side, the Commander-in-Chief sounds fairly convinced he was the main influence behind getting the USMNT’s top scorer out of trouble.
This is obviously going to raise serious questions about fairness, corruption and the spirit of the game.
FIFA have long been looked at as an imperfect organisation, but this kind of malleability to the will of a specific country at the world’s most important global event, for many, will cross a red line.
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