Unwelcome and undue: Trump’s red-card intervention hurts the US’s World Cup more than it helps | Pablo Iglesias Maurer

Summary

In pushing Fifa to reverse Folarin Balogun’s suspension, the president did the most American thing possible: assert unasked-for power to get his way T he story of Garrincha’s red card in the 1962 World Cup is the stuff of legend. The Brazilian great was sent off in the semifinals for lashing out at an opponent, but back then, Fifa had no automatic one-match suspension in place. So a disciplinary committee convened the next day to decide his fate for the final. As the story goes, the assistant referee who had the best view of the offense was paid off and disappeared, and the president of Chile, the tournament’s host, put in a call to Fifa, urging them to decide against any additional suspension. He did so for the sake of keeping one of the tournament’s most entertaining players on the field. Garrincha emerged scot-free, and Brazil won their second World Cup days later. It’s the type of far-fetched tale that seems ancient, but Sunday brought the type of news that makes one realize that we’re not so far removed from those days. Ahead of the US men’s national team’s last-16 match against Belgium, Donald Trump had put in a series of phone calls to Gianni Infantino, as the US Soccer Federation sought ways to suspend the one-match ban issued to US striker Folarin Balogun. It is unfortunate, too, for the American public, many of whom have raged against the assertion that their home country is a footballing backwater or that they lag well behind other nations in terms of talent and prestige. There was much made in the run-up about a host of issues: ticket prices, visa issues, logistical and infrastructure concerns and even the potential presence of immigration enforcement agents at matches.