Firstly the malignant narcissist in the White House, Donald Trump, and his administration refused, for no good reason other than proving a point, Somali referee, Omar Artan, entry into the country.
Secondly Trump insisted the Iranian football team reside in Mexico and commute to the US for their games immediately putting the Iranians at a disadvantage. The tournament is supposed to be played on a level playing field which, on this occasion, is clearly not the case and has now set a precedent for future World Cups.
The FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has shown a clear lack of courage and moral fibre in addressing the problems which clearly exist and are of Trumps making. Trump may be the root cause of the difficulties faced by the Somali referee and the Iranian national team but the FIFA President must also shoulder his share of the blame for blatant cowardice. All this man who supposedly leads world footballs international governing body could say was “relax and chill”. Once again, the FIFA chief and his managerial team have licked the arse of the US tyrant, Trump, this time with the narcissist interfering directly with a FIFA referee’s decision on the pitch. Are there no depths the grovelling FIFA President will not stoop? In order to curry favour with Trump Infantino even went as far as awarding the US warmonger and kidnapper a “FIFA peace prize at the World Cup draw” (Irish Daily Mirror 6th July). It appears now the US President calls the shots not the referee or even the hated VAR, no, Donald Trump now calls the shots it would seem.
On Wednesday 1st July the USA played Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the course of the game a US player, Folarin Balogun, was sent off for a foul on an opposition defender stomping on the defender’s ankle. The foul some would say warranted a straight red card others would disagree claiming a yellow card would have been sufficient. Either way red or yellow card is not the point, but the direct interference of Trump is! Trump contacted the FIFA hierarchy regarding this decision which was a matter solely for the referee: that’s his job, even today with fucked up VAR, and had nothing to do with the White House. The referee’s decision did appear a little harsh as the stamping looked accidental and the US team and management, which is their right, expressed ‘anger and disappointment’ at the referee. This is normal and happens every Saturday, or Sunday, or Monday or whenever a game is played when head coaches – who have replaced managers and not for the better – complain when decisions have not gone their way. It is a perfectly natural response.
What makes this incident different in a negative sense is the direct political interference by Trump, interference which undermines the FIFA rule book and credibility. Perhaps those who maintain politics should be kept out of sport should voice a view on this quite blatant crossing of their red line. Thanks to Trump's meddling in things he cares fuck all about, apart from political opportunism, the decision which should have carried an automatic ban for the next game, in this case a last 16 contest with Belgium, has been put back until after the tournament. This is a first-time occurrence because even though other players in the past - Cristiano Ronaldo being one - have had red cards and suspensions which were incurred in games before the tournament began, the suspensions were put back till after the tournament, thus not placing any barriers to the players during the competition. This is the first time such an offence has occurred during the tournament and a suspension being lifted on the thinly veiled instructions of a world leader. Trump immediately took to social media to thank FIFA for doing the “right thing” or, roughly translated, riding rough shod over the match referee’s decision. Thankfully poetic justice was done as Belgium won the game 4-1 thus progressing to the last eight.
Referee’s today have enough problems with being undermined by VAR and now, it appears, by the President of the USA. Of course the FIFA President could and should have told Trump to do one when he issued his Presidential decree but lacks the moral fibre to do or say this. Trump only has to glance in Infantino’s direction and the FIFA President reaches for the toilet roll, and not to through on the pitch which was once traditional, but to rapidly wipe his arse.
The failure of Gianni Infantino to stand up to Trump and his meddling has ruined this competition undermining its integrity. It has been bad enough with VAR on the pitch, for example in the Mexico versus England game the referee said no to a Mexican penalty appeal only minuet’s later for VAR to order him to the screen for another look. Instead of telling VAR to fuck off and standing by his decision the referee, like the majority, though not all, of his peers went belly up and changed his mind thus allowing Mexico a penalty he had, minutes earlier, decided against! For the record the referee still has the final decision on the pitch and is not obliged to agree with VAR, though very few do go against VAR.
Referee’s today have enough problems with being undermined by VAR and now, it appears, by the President of the USA. Of course the FIFA President could and should have told Trump to do one when he issued his Presidential decree but lacks the moral fibre to do or say this. Trump only has to glance in Infantino’s direction and the FIFA President reaches for the toilet roll, and not to through on the pitch which was once traditional, but to rapidly wipe his arse.
The failure of Gianni Infantino to stand up to Trump and his meddling has ruined this competition undermining its integrity. It has been bad enough with VAR on the pitch, for example in the Mexico versus England game the referee said no to a Mexican penalty appeal only minuet’s later for VAR to order him to the screen for another look. Instead of telling VAR to fuck off and standing by his decision the referee, like the majority, though not all, of his peers went belly up and changed his mind thus allowing Mexico a penalty he had, minutes earlier, decided against! For the record the referee still has the final decision on the pitch and is not obliged to agree with VAR, though very few do go against VAR.
Infantino failed to intervene over the blatantly unfair treatment of the Somali referee Omar Artan, the African continent's finest, not being allowed entry into the country. Fair enough - that decision, wrong as it was, is within the remit of any government, most who would not exercise such powers, but the FIFA coward said absolutely fuck all. The very least this referee could have expected was the verbal support of FIFA but did not get it.
Then the FIFA chief failed to address the unfair treatment of the Iranian national side who were not allowed to train in the US and had to commute from Mexico for every game played in the USA placing the Iranians at an immediate disadvantage. This is not to suggest support for the religious nutters in Tehran who pass for a government, it is support for the footballers and supporters of Iran. Once again not a murmur from Infantino, not a fucking word of protest! Despite these appalling incidents and the unfairness involved, Trump putting his size tens into the ring over the sending off is in a different league. Trump cares nothing for football, anymore, it would appear, than do the pretenders of FIFA the international custodians of the game! Trump saw an opportunity for himself and even though he could not even give an idiot’s guide to the game decided to intervene knowing Infantino is shit scared of him! Trump also used this as an opportunity to compare the “unfairness” of the sending off which he had overturned with the 2020 US Presidential election which he, Trump, still maintains he won. Nobody else does apart from him and a few thousand half-witted followers and sycophants of the narcissist.
For me this tournament signals the end of the line for top flight football. It now appears any Tom, Dick, or Donald can waltz into the White House and interfere in a tournament which, frankly, is outside their remit. The games integrity already suspect is now in tatters and couple the actions of Trump with the inactions of Infantino and we have this mire masquerading as football. The narcissist could not have got away with so much without a spineless FIFA President colluding. Thanks to this pair of clowns and every other negative from VAR to bad refereeing then, to coin a phrase, ‘the games afoot’.
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
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