{"id":1112,"date":"2026-07-06T19:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1112"},"modified":"2026-07-06T19:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T19:46:20","slug":"a-very-bad-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1112","title":{"rendered":"A Very Bad Call"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The only thing more riling than a referee\u2019s interference in a sports event is a politician\u2019s. How to kill America\u2019s goodwill in the World Cup: Wave a \u201cred card\u201d under the nose of Donald Trump. Let him go to work, by putting in a call to his good friend Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, to inquire about the suspension of Team USA\u2019s top scorer. Have the player\u2019s suspension magically lifted just in time for the next big game. Gin up such a feeble procedural explanation for the sudden reversal that the entire sporting globe becomes incensed over the garbage-y scent of an inside job.<\/p>\n

Read more What Game of Thrones Never Got Around to Showing<\/a><\/p>\n

A team should have to beat just 11 men to win a World Cup match, not 11 men and a referee, and certainly not 11 men, a referee, a FIFA bureaucrat, and an American president. But that is now the perception of Team USA\u2019s home-field advantage: that the host will do anything to win on this soil, including applying pressure, by the president and members of his administration, to overturn officiating.<\/p>\n

The red card issued against Folarin Balogun for stepping on an opponent\u2019s ankle in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week may have been a terrible call. But FIFA\u2019s regulations couldn\u2019t be clearer, in both and a separate set of World Cup . A red card means automatic suspension for the next game, with no appeal. Balogun should have been out for tonight\u2019s round-of-16 match against Belgium. Instead, FIFA declared yesterday, he is merely on probation and will play.<\/p>\n

What did the president say when he called Infantino, who has groomed Trump like a pet, renting an office in his New York Trump Tower, and giving him a \u201cpeace prize\u201d? Trump said he merely asked Infantino to \u201creview\u201d the red card \u201cbecause I didn\u2019t think it was a foul\u201d and it was a \u201chorrible\u201d decision by the ref. But we know how these kinds of calls from Trump have gone in the past. Something like this: \u201cAll I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Belgian coach Rudi Garcia, the unexpected reversal landed like an \u201cApril Fools\u2019\u201d joke. The Belgium federation professed itself \u201castonished.\u201d Even American players wondered if the news was an AI hoax, initially. The last time that FIFA allowed a red-carded competitor to appear in the next game of a World Cup was 1962, when Brazil pressured the host, Chile, to permit Garrincha to play in the final match after he had kicked an opponent in the semifinal. The former England captain turned commentator Wayne Rooney labeled yesterday\u2019s reversal \u201can absolute disgrace.\u201d Soccer\u2019s governing body in Europe, UEFA, issued an incredulous statement this morning saying that the decision crosses a \u201cred line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The Military Pete Hegseth Wants<\/a><\/p>\n

Everyone hates lousy officiating\u2014and some of the calls in this World Cup have been infuriatingly lousy. What\u2019s so aggravating about a referee\u2019s whistle is the sudden intrusion of a bystander. It interrupts the flow on the field and suggests that someone other than the skilled participants might decide the outcome. \u201cStay out of it!\u201d you want to scream. This is what makes Trump\u2019s phone call so much worse than the ref\u2019s bad call. The remaining teams and their fans are left to believe that their competitive fate could be determined not by a ball\u2019s bounce or a referee\u2019s call, but by an erratic head of state. These teams are prey not just to whistle, but to whim.<\/p>\n

The World Cup will always include unjust calls and bad breaks. Balls bounce off goalposts at crazy angles. The refs cannot follow every heel-toe and instep. Soccer is a low-scoring game, and one of rough justice. The great teams, such as France or England, generally accept this, and understand that to win, they will have to surmount some adversity, including error and tough luck. That\u2019s what makes a World Cup title so desirable. But Trump\u2019s call to Infantino creates a whole new level of adversity\u2014the kind that most teams have little power to overcome. You can\u2019t beat a host country\u2019s president if he\u2019s in league with the organizers, and if Infantino won\u2019t uphold his own rules.<\/p>\n

Last night, England lost one of its defenders, Jarell Quansah, to a red card during its 3\u20132 victory over Mexico in a brilliantly fought game. Can someone appeal to Trump about that<\/em> one? England coach Thomas Tuchel didn\u2019t agree with either red card, but he was more unhappy about the absolute hash Trump and Infantino have made of the rule books. \u201cWho \u200boverturns this decision then, and when and on what grounds?\u201d Tuchel asked reporters after the game, adding, \u201cWhere does this start and where does this end?\u201d<\/p>\n

It will end with lingering suspicion. FIFA, many of whose officials have gained a reputation over the years for doing business through offshore shell companies and suitcases of cash, has never been the sweetest-smelling body. Thanks to Trump\u2019s phone call, the tournament is tainted with a certain stench. No matter who wins, FIFA will have trouble getting rid of the stink.<\/p>\n

Read more The Death of Renee Good Has Yet to Be Properly Investigated<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The red card against Team USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun at the World Cup wasn\u2019t good. FIFA\u2019s decision to overturn it after hearing from Donald Trump was even worse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nA Very Bad Call - Commercial Relocation Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/commercialrelocationpros.com\/?p=1112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Very Bad Call - Commercial Relocation Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The red card against Team USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun at the World Cup wasn\u2019t good. 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