Let us be honest: neither Donald Trump’s administration nor Fifa under Gianni Infantino entered this year’s World Cup with impeccable reputations for either honest or moral probity.
Fifa has been mired in corruption scandals – always fiercely denied – for decades, with allegations of bribery around the allocation of tournaments alongside other wrongdoing. Trump, meanwhile, is regularly accused of using his public office to enrich himself and his family, and of making any global event into one about himself.
Perhaps, then, it should not have come as a surprise when on Fifa on Sunday announced that it had suspended the automatic one-match ban picked up by Folarin Balogun, a key player on the US team, following his red card in the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Shorts
Balogun was set to miss the critical US game against Belgium on Monday evening. Now he will almost certainly play.
