THE UNITED STATES are out of the World Cup and someone at the White House will no doubt have to go and let President Donald Trump know the bad news.
If goals could be chalked off by a Fifa committee for pure mortification than maybe USA goalkeeper Matt Freese and his captain, Tim Ream, might get a reprieve for Belgium’s third.
It was so comical even Trump would have blushed.
Folarin Balogun won a soft free kick that helped his side back into the game at 1-0 down and later had a shot saved before losing 4-1, but other than that the man who found himself at the centre of a World Cup storm barely got a kick as Belgium triumphed in Seattle to reach the quarter-finals.
None of the co-hosts will play any further part, and will anyone shed a tear for Mauricio Pochettino et al. after the way in which they happily rowed in behind the political machine which helped to bring this World Cup into disrepute?
Pochettino may well get a new contract but his standing in the game outside of America has reached a new low.
He’s yesterday’s man as an elite coach and will be remembered after this World Cup as happily going against the values of a sport he had spent his life serving.
Now let’s just go back to the start of this World Cup.
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Gianni Infantino with U.S. Soccer Federation President Cindy Parlow Cone (left) and chair of the Royal Belgian Football Association Pascale Van Damme. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Fifa president Gianni Infantino held a pre-tournament press conference in the media centre at the Azteca Stadium on the eve of Mexico against South Africa.
One section has stuck in the craw over a month later. As he tried to defend the extortionate ticket prices, Infantino seemed offended people had dared to criticise him.
“This will be the biggest, the best, the greatest. The biggest event probably in the history of mankind,” he said. “And six billion people will watch at home… For free!”
Infantino went on to suggest Fifa could earn $30 billion (€26 billion) from TV deals.
He was the one who would decide.
He was he man he could determine the future of how you do or do not interact with a World Cup.
He was the man in complete control.
Just be happy you get to watch games for nothing on television. At the click of his fingers Infantino could change it all.
Except that isn’t really the case.
The Balogun controversy highlights that the man who has been leading world football’s governing body for the last 10 years will sell the values of the sport down the river for just a sliver of praise from the president of the United States.
Donald Trump did what Donald Trump does. We know this because he spoke about his influence with such blatant disregard for any kind of decency or respect.
“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do.
“I didn’t say, ‘you have to do this’. This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great. I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field.”
Infantino sought to distance himself from the whole scenario – a strange thing to do for someone of such standing and power – by issuing a statement of his own, one which confirmed he spoke to Trump but maintained that Fifa’s judicial bodies are independent and operate autonomously.
This all came at a time when Uefa described the suspension of Balogun’s one-game ban following White House intervention as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, adding that it “crossed a red line.”
It led to a trickle-down effect. France have appealed the yellow card picked up by Michael Olise against Paraguay while the English FA are reportedly examining doing the same following Jarell Quansah’s deserved red card against Mexico on Sunday.
The last 48 hours will ensure this World Cup goes down in infamy as the one in which Fifa bent to the will of an elected leader from one of the co-hosts of the tournament.
There was even a further statement from the chairperson of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee to try and justify the decision. The words really don’t matter as Trump’s speak louder than anything.
They highlight the direct links between the White House and Fifa and will bring an even greater pressure on Infantino. Last month, 50 members of the European Parliament wrote to Fifa demanding that the Ethics Committee carry out an investigation into Infantino because of his close ties to Trump, going against the organisation’s duty of political neutrality as well as the decision to award the Fifa Peace Prize in December 2025.
Now it is Infantino that the football world is looking at. From Uefa to the heads of associations across the globe, they have seen Fifa wilt and the man who is supposed to be in control has allowed it spiral from his grasp.
The football can save this World Cup but how will Infantino survive this?
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Focus shifts as pressure grows on Gianni Infantino over Folarin Balogun controversy
THE UNITED STATES are out of the World Cup and someone at the White House will no doubt have to go and let President Donald Trump know the bad news.
If goals could be chalked off by a Fifa committee for pure mortification than maybe USA goalkeeper Matt Freese and his captain, Tim Ream, might get a reprieve for Belgium’s third.
It was so comical even Trump would have blushed.
Folarin Balogun won a soft free kick that helped his side back into the game at 1-0 down and later had a shot saved before losing 4-1, but other than that the man who found himself at the centre of a World Cup storm barely got a kick as Belgium triumphed in Seattle to reach the quarter-finals.
None of the co-hosts will play any further part, and will anyone shed a tear for Mauricio Pochettino et al. after the way in which they happily rowed in behind the political machine which helped to bring this World Cup into disrepute?
Pochettino may well get a new contract but his standing in the game outside of America has reached a new low.
He’s yesterday’s man as an elite coach and will be remembered after this World Cup as happily going against the values of a sport he had spent his life serving.
Now let’s just go back to the start of this World Cup.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino held a pre-tournament press conference in the media centre at the Azteca Stadium on the eve of Mexico against South Africa.
One section has stuck in the craw over a month later. As he tried to defend the extortionate ticket prices, Infantino seemed offended people had dared to criticise him.
“This will be the biggest, the best, the greatest. The biggest event probably in the history of mankind,” he said. “And six billion people will watch at home… For free!”
Infantino went on to suggest Fifa could earn $30 billion (€26 billion) from TV deals.
He was the one who would decide.
He was he man he could determine the future of how you do or do not interact with a World Cup.
He was the man in complete control.
Just be happy you get to watch games for nothing on television. At the click of his fingers Infantino could change it all.
Except that isn’t really the case.
The Balogun controversy highlights that the man who has been leading world football’s governing body for the last 10 years will sell the values of the sport down the river for just a sliver of praise from the president of the United States.
Donald Trump did what Donald Trump does. We know this because he spoke about his influence with such blatant disregard for any kind of decency or respect.
“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do.
“I didn’t say, ‘you have to do this’. This man is a smart, tough man, Gianni Infantino. He’s a smart, tough man, and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he has done has been great. I feel like we have to have all the best players on the field.”
Infantino sought to distance himself from the whole scenario – a strange thing to do for someone of such standing and power – by issuing a statement of his own, one which confirmed he spoke to Trump but maintained that Fifa’s judicial bodies are independent and operate autonomously.
This all came at a time when Uefa described the suspension of Balogun’s one-game ban following White House intervention as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable”, adding that it “crossed a red line.”
It led to a trickle-down effect. France have appealed the yellow card picked up by Michael Olise against Paraguay while the English FA are reportedly examining doing the same following Jarell Quansah’s deserved red card against Mexico on Sunday.
The last 48 hours will ensure this World Cup goes down in infamy as the one in which Fifa bent to the will of an elected leader from one of the co-hosts of the tournament.
There was even a further statement from the chairperson of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee to try and justify the decision. The words really don’t matter as Trump’s speak louder than anything.
They highlight the direct links between the White House and Fifa and will bring an even greater pressure on Infantino. Last month, 50 members of the European Parliament wrote to Fifa demanding that the Ethics Committee carry out an investigation into Infantino because of his close ties to Trump, going against the organisation’s duty of political neutrality as well as the decision to award the Fifa Peace Prize in December 2025.
Now it is Infantino that the football world is looking at. From Uefa to the heads of associations across the globe, they have seen Fifa wilt and the man who is supposed to be in control has allowed it spiral from his grasp.
The football can save this World Cup but how will Infantino survive this?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
2026 world cup Comment Gianni Infantino none