FIFA stunned the soccer world by voiding USA penalty | Drudge Retort

Sunday, July 05, 2026

FIFA stunned the soccer world by voiding USA penalty

President Donald Trump's role in FIFA's stunning decision to allow striker Folarin Balogun to be eligible to play against Belgium on Monday in Seattle is under the microscope. A source familiar with the matter told CNN on Sunday that Trump spoke with FIFA President Gianni Infantino this week after Balogun's red card and asked the FIFA leader to review the call. On Sunday afternoon, soccer's governing body announced it was using an obscure rule to suspend Balogun's automatic one-match ban for one year, allowing the striker to play against Belgium in the Round of 16.

Posted by REDIAL at 10:47 PM | 12 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Congrats to the USA... designated winners of the 2026 World Cup!

#1 | Posted by REDIAL at 2026-07-05 10:49 PM | Reply

Another view ...

Can Gianni Infantino keep winning over Trump without losing the world?
www.politico.com

... That success is beginning to weaken Infantino, as the third-term FIFA president faces newfound internal opposition for his over-the-top courtship of Trump. Our interviews with six international soccer officials across three continents reveal widespread frustration with Infantino's decision to side with Trump...

"The extent of this cozy relationship that we've seen and and the public character that has been assumed between Mr. Infantino and Mr. Trump is different even from what we saw in the past," said Miguel Maduro, former chairman of FIFA's governance and review committee. "It's not that things like that didn't happen in the past, but it didn't happen so obviously and so emphatically as they do now."

Our reporting found that Infantino did not inform his 37-member FIFA Council before creating the FIFA Peace Prize this year, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. Over the past year, at least three of FIFA's eight vice presidents have publicly or privately expressed their concerns about the lengths Infantino is willing to go to please Trump. ...

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-07-05 11:00 PM | Reply

FIFA stunned the world by giving a bogus peace prize to a serial child rapist.

#3 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2026-07-05 11:21 PM | Reply

Wonderful England vs Mexico match.

Surprised this site only has political threads about the WC, and very little, to nothing about the best world cup matches I have ever seen.

#4 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-07-05 11:44 PM | Reply

Pedo 47's buddy from Epstein Island Howie Nutlick was also involved.

www.politico.com

#5 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2026-07-05 11:44 PM | Reply

LAPD issues citywide tactical alert before end of Mexico-England World Cup match
www.nbclosangeles.com

#6 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-07-05 11:47 PM | Reply

"Deflector shields to max!!!"

#7 | Posted by REDIAL at 2026-07-05 11:49 PM | Reply

Who gives a s*^%? It doesn't affect any of our lives in a meaningful way and FIFA is corrupt as hell anyway.

Anyone surprised at this is obtuse or ignorant.

#8 | Posted by jpw at 2026-07-06 12:55 AM | Reply

FIFA is corrupt as hell anyway

That is certainly a well known point.

#9 | Posted by REDIAL at 2026-07-06 01:11 AM | Reply

"Everything Trump touches dies."

Thanks to Rick Wilson for that pithy, all too accurate observation. And so it is now, with the US soccer team and one player in particular: Folarin Balogun
.
No matter what happens in the games for the remainder of the competition, anything US players might accomplish from this point on comes with an asterisk explaining some nefarious goings on between FIFA's odious Gianni Infantino and the corrupt Trump. Same for whatever Balogun might do, b3cause that, too, must now labor under the burden of that explanatory asterisk.

Trump's ongoing ensh#ttification of America gathers steam.

Thanks, MAGAts, you built this.

#10 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-07-06 07:13 AM | Reply

You morons are so full of shit, you weren't paying attention, now you have some small kernel to grasp on to. Anything to see America lose.

You hate that something good is happening, hate it more that its happening under Trump.
Trump didn't do anything any other country hasn't done.

From Politico Journalist.

FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen U.S. government & soccer officials:
- Wednesday after U.S.-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup and regularly before that.)
- Wed night: Giuliani, Lutnick and U.S. Soccer officials began activating on plans to challenge red card
- That kicked off 4 days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering & diplomacy that stretched from Oval Office to Zurich
- On *Thursday* Trump dialed Gianni Infantino and asked abt FIFA's rules around the red card decision and grounds for suspension. (They've known each other for 8 yrs.)
- FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.
- As U.S. Soccer's legal team formally prepared & submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani + Lutnick offered to make White House attorneys available to assist
- At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin " a hedge-fund manager who had helped pay the salary of Mauricio Pochettino " zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus
-Articles examining previous controversies involving Claus circulated among senior gov officials as they evaluated every argument that could bolster the appeal
- On FIFA side, Emilio Garca, who oversees the legal affairs of FIFA, advised Infantino on the available procedural options
- Garca + other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun's tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited
- By Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun's one-match suspension would be suspended
- FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.
x.com

TL:CR

Trump only asked about the rule, the White House-affiliated lawyers offered to help the USMNT if needed, and the process went through all official channels. The player is still on a probation. Its not the first time its happened in WC.

That's the big scandal that has Lumpers dumping in their diapers.

#11 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-07-06 07:41 AM | Reply

#11
Bottom line: Steve Miller says you can withdraw your tongue from Trump's Depends in ... three ... two ... one ... now!

#12 | Posted by Doc_Sarvis at 2026-07-06 07:51 AM | Reply

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