Red card for FIFA, Infantino

IT took longer than most people thought it would, but U.S. President Donald Trump finally brought his brand of chaos to the men’s World Cup soccer tournament — and immediately soiled the pitch.

Trump was infuriated by a questionable red card shown to top U.S. forward Folarin Balogun during the American team’s July 1 match with Bosnia and Herzegovina — disciplinary action which meant Balogun was ejected from the game and suspended for his country’s next match versus Belgium on Monday.

Spurred on by officials including Andrew Giuliani (yes, the son of Rudy), director of the White House task force on the World Cup, Trump called up his bosom buddy, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, that very evening to ask that something be done about the suspension. He called Infantino again on July 4.

Lo and behold, FIFA announced July 5 that its disciplinary panel had suspended the application of Balogun’s one-match ban for a year, making him eligible to play in the Belgium game (which the U.S. lost 4-1, by the way). Multiple news reports quickly revealed Trump’s calls to Infantino — reaction was equally swift.

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