The story of Garrincha’s red card in the 1962 World Cup is the stuff of legend. The Brazilian great was sent off in the semi-final 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.
It is the type of far-fetched tale that seems ancient, but Sunday brought the type of news that makes one realize that we are not so far removed from those days. Before the US men’s national team’s last-16 match against Belgium, Donald Trump 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 their striker Folarin Balogun.
Balogun was sent off during the USMNT’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, having inadvertently stomped on the ankle of an opponent while vying for possession. The red card was dubious and it has been relitigated to death with the general consensus that the US were hard done by the call, which was made after video review.
Balogun, the US head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, and a chorus of others expressed anger and disappointment at the sending off, but seemed to accept the suspension.
Which is right around the time Trump inserted himself in the situation. US Soccer had been doing its own lobbying and in short order Balogun’s one-match ban was suspended until after the tournament. Fifa had done the same with a handful of players (including Cristiano Ronaldo) who had earned suspensions before to the tournament, but doing so during the World Cup itself is without precedent.
What has followed has been a mix of elation and outrage. Many are understandably pleased by the development, as is Pochettino, who said as much on Sunday. Belgium’s head coach, Rudi Garcia, though, was incensed, saying he was unaware that April Fools’ Day falls in July. The Belgian federation has stated it is reviewing its legal options.
Fifa has its own explanation, though it doesn’t offer much insight. It simply points to the article in its bylaws that allows for this decision. Fifa officials took a similar approach when asked about Trump’s alleged phone calls, insisting that the very nature of its disciplinary process makes it impossible for that type of intervention to sway a decision.
Asking any of us to believe that Fifa is not influenced by Trump is an absurdity. It is tantamount to asking us to believe he was awarded its “peace prize” on merit alone. Infantino’s relationship with Trump has long been a cozy one, a mutually beneficial symbiosis where Trump gets the type of sycophantic praise and attention he thrives on and Infantino gets the keys to the biggest commercial market in the world for Fifa’s cash cow.
What Trump does not realize – or perhaps he simply doesn’t care – is that he has done the whole of American soccer no favors by putting his thumb on the scales.
The USMNT have reached their current station in the tournament on their own merits, riding three exceptional performances and one bang average one to the last 16. Balogun has been arguably the their best player throughout that run.
Yet even without the Monaco striker, there was no shortage of pundits and oddsmakers pegging the US as likely to win against Belgium. The perception the US have been handed an unfair advantage here – they have, to be clear – taints their potential advancement. This is true in the States, but much more so globally where Trump has become the latest in a long line of ugly Americans who are perceived, fairly or unfairly, to have expected preferential treatment.
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. The US have done tremendously at this World Cup to prove that notion a farce, but a win on Monday may well be perceived as one engineered by Fifa.
The Norway head coach, Ståle Solbakken, seems to agree with the notion that a victory would carry an asterisk.
“I think that’s a big mistake by Fifa,” he told reporters after his side’s shock 2-1 victory over Brazil on Sunday. “Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision. I feel sorry for the United States because even if they win the game will always have this bad thing about it. Not good for the sport. Bad decision by Fifa.”
Trump’s involvement mars what has been a successful World Cup. There was much made in the run-up about a number of issues: ticket prices, visas, logistical and infrastructure concerns and even the potential presence of immigration enforcement agents at matches. Some were calling for the tournament to be hosted elsewhere. While some of those problems unquestionably came to bear – you only need to look at the miserable treatment of the Iranian national team to see that – the perception of the tournament has, by and large, been positive.
Trump has now done the most American thing possible: assert undue, unwelcome, unasked-for influence and power to get his way. On Sunday, he welcomed the news of Balogun’s reprieve on his Truth Social account to thank Fifa for reversing this “grave injustice”.
What he may not realize is that he has inflicted an injustice of his own, one that may prove much more difficult to reverse.
