The USA hosting the World Cup was already a hugely controversial topic, and Donald Trump has poured petrol on the fire.
The World Cup is hitting the business end this week as the round of 16 takes place, with Leeds having two representatives still present.
Out of the pair, Brenden Aaronson inadvertently finds himself in the midst of a USA media circus. President Donald Trump’s questionable fingerprints are all over recent developments.
Folarin Balogun’s USA red card suspension dismissed after shocking Donald Trump admission
Aaronson has had little to say in USA’s hopeful run deep into the World Cup. He’s watched on as fellow attacker Folarin Balogun was dismissed in a 2-0 round of 32 victory over Bosnia, sent off for a reckless rake of the studs down the back of Tarik Muharemovic’s calf.
Balogun’s foul was clearly accidental, but was a dangerous act that referee Raphael Claus deemed worthy of a serious foul play after VAR intervention.
With Belgium up next in the round of 16, Balogun was initially suspended. But, an extraordinary turn of events has seen FIFA give Balogun a one-year suspended ban, clearing him to play on Tuesday morning.
As the Guardian explain, FIFA’s disciplinary code does not permit appeals for straight red cards. However, article 27 allows FIFA to rescind the decision with a probation period, meaning a similar incident in the next 12 months will lead to a suspension.
What clearly helped influence the decision was direct contact from Trump. He confirmed his phone call with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to address the matter.
“He (Balogun) didn’t do anything wrong and he is our best player,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, via Reuters. “When they take your best player and say ‘You can’t play’ it’s very unfair.
“I think they made a really brilliant decision. I asked for a review. If they would not allow a top player to play I think it (the World Cup) would have had a big stain. I related that feeling.”
It’s never a good thing when someone with such power is seemingly confirming that he used his influence to change a decision.
Trump’s comments have of course dominated discourse, and not for good reasons. His Oval Office explanation of his view on matters raised further questions.
Leeds United striker Lukas Nmecha shared a clip of Trump on his Instagram story, joking at the president’s comments that he knows sport ‘really well’:
Screenshot
Those two words say quite a lot. Fair play, Lukas.
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