From Mussolini to Trump, back on political interference at the World Cup
The call of US President Donald Trump to the boss of FIFA Gianni Infantino, for the disciplinary commission of the body to re-examine the red card inflicted on the U.S. striker Falorin Balogun, is not the first case of political interference observed in the World Cup.
1934: Mussolini’s pressures
Fascist Italy is hosting the second World Cup in history and “Il Duce”, which does not like football unlike its people, sees it as a dream opportunity to glorify its political regime.
Present at each match, Mussolini goes to the locker room and the refereeing is very advantageous for the host country finally crowned, to the point that FIFA will then decide to suspend two referees for life.
1938: the pressures of Mussolini (bis)
A year before the Second World War, Austria, just annexed by Nazi Germany, declared forfeit and several of its players were forced to play for the Mannschaft, with the obligation to perform the Nazi salute at the Parc des Princes. Germany will not, however, overtake the 8th finals.
Italy retains its title, its players wearing black jerseys that recall the outfit of the transalpine militiamen. Before the final, Mussolini sends them a short but chilling message: “Defeat or die”.
1978: Suspicions of corruption in Argentina
Organized under the dictatorship of General Jorge Rafael Videla, the “Mundial” aimed at restoring the image of the regime sees Argentina win its first title, tainted by strong suspicions of corruption.
To reach the final, the Albiceleste had to beat Peru by at least four goals apart in order to overtake Brazil. The Peruvians, yet appeared solid defensively at the beginning of the tournament, collapsed and bowed 6-0. Over the years, without the evidence being provided, several testimonies will denounce an act of corruption between the two dictatorships.
1982: France-Kuwait and the rash of the sheikh
In Valladolid, the Blues have just scored the goal of the 4-1 by Alain Giresse, contested by the Kuwaitis who have heard a whistle that they thought to mean an out of play. While the referee has well validated the goal, Sheikh Fahad al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, the younger brother of the emir, and also president of the Kuwaiti Federation, descended from the stands, enters the lawn to the general amazement. In the most total confusion, the goal is invalidated by the referee, who will pay the price of a lifetime cancellation by FIFA.
2026: Trump’s call to Infantino
Dissatisfied with the red card inflicted on Folarin Balogun during the U.S. victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 16th final, synonymous with the automatic suspension of the American striker for the next match against Belgium, Donald Trump calls FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to ask for the review of the sanction.
Four days later, the global body announced that its disciplinary commission had changed the sanction. The firm suspension match was commuted to “a suspended suspension match with a probationary period of one year”. Consequence: the top scorer of Team USA in this World Cup can well be lined up Monday against the Red Devils.
UEFA statement on the reversal of red card.
It might have been posted earlier, but I read that Marco Rubio and Howard Lutnick put a team of lawyers on the sending off issue, with a view to having the red card overturned…
Apparently, the lawyers were prepared to sue FIFA if the decision was not overturned to allow the player to be selected.
The reason being, and the point they were going to challenge - “the use of slow motion video coverage in the referee deciding a red card was justified, should not have been used in any decision making, as it puts a false narrative on the event”
Not content with fucking the USA, lawyers are now looking to fuck football
RBFA STATEMENT UPDATE
Following its previous statement, the RBFA wishes to publicly explain the events of the past few hours.
After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.
As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.
For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.
All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.
Furthermore, during the match coordination meeting, FIFA deliberately removed the section concerning the automatic suspension of players from its presentation. This topic had nonetheless been part of all such meetings before each of the previous four matches. The RBFA questioned FIFA, both orally and in writing, about the reasons for this change, yet once again received no response.
To be clear, as of this moment, the RBFA has still not received any decision or any explanation from FIFA regarding this matter. It therefore has no alternative but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.
Regardless of the sporting outcome of this match, the RBFA is deeply concerned by the course of events and will continue to fight in the coming hours, days and months in defence of the fundamental principles of ethics, fair competition, and the interests of football as a whole.
And all other FA’s should support them.
I have no idea how FIFA will now attempt to use the rule against political interference with member FAs
You don’t want those rainbow armbands on though….
I think we have forgot the modus operandi of Donald Trump which is he has to be front and centre of everything.
It was long overdue that he would appear as the issue at a tournament in the country he runs.
Also found it annoying when he was talking about getting the world cup, something along the lines of “we let Canada and Mexico have a little bit of it”.
And to use lawyers, or the threat of legal action, to get his way.
Well done Belgium. The best response is on the pitch.
But that said, I really hope that it won’t be the end of it. Infantino needs to have a big fire lit under his corrupt ass. UEFA and the other continental federations need to take a firm stand there. Otherwise, we’ll soon have other, similar incidents.
The best outcome would be if Infantino could be dismissed from his position. This guy is a cancer for football.
Infantino is just a symptom, professional world football is getting the FIFA leader it deserves and football fans will eat whatever shit is served.
Even if Infantino falls, the best one can hope for is someone who’s doing the corruption stuff a bit more discreet.
A former player would be good though. Not that he’d necessarily be less corrupt, but at least, he’d have a sense for the spirit of the game. That’s why I was disappointed at the time to see Platini ruled out.
Sam allardyce hears your call @Hope.in.your.heart 
The spirit of the game is to generate as much money as possible. Infantino has been a success in that sense, he’ll only fall if he makes mistakes in how to spread it to ensure his power.
Wenger isnt a former player but as a manger he spent his entire top flight career complaining about the lack of consideration of player welfare in the decisions of these orgs. Yet now in an exec role in FIFA he has become an advocate for shit like the club world cup.
Orgs like this are too broken to turn around by just bringing in a better person at the top.
Greediest cunts around.
Elon Musk levels of integrity