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.
You captured my thoughts on this incident quite succinctly.
We shall see if the Trump WC Curse stays in play during the final. The evidence thus far:
1. Trump interferes with Balogun red card –> US loses
2. Harry Kane admits to golfing with Trump –> England loses
3. Messi gives Trump pink soccer ball – I admit this one disappointed me the most –> Argentina at risk of smiting during the WC Final.
It would be the perfect trifecta we have, thus far, been denied in the Senate (McConnell/Graham/???).