Three things need to be said:
- Folarin Balogun wanted to play. He’s devoted his young life to excellence in his sport, and shouldn’t be blamed for the corruption of those who govern the tournaments he and the national team participate in.
- The foul was serious, but did not appear to have been intentional. He probably shouldn’t have been shown a red card. For better or worse, though, the referee is the referee. That should have been the end of it.
- FIFA is, at best, a rickety institution, and Donald Trump could fuck up an anvil. We may not be able to stop him from wrecking things he doesn’t understand, but not even a comic book patriotism requires us to endorse his desecrations.