NEW HAVEN — Football is a victim of this mess. The fallout from Folarin Balogun’s red card is Fifa’s worst scandal since Sepp Blatter’s resignation in 2015, so it was nice to hear the old boy piping up on social media to offer some stinging criticism of his old employer’s behaviour. Never thought I’d say this, but can I hear more from Sepp?
And less from Donald, if possible. On Monday afternoon UK time, President Trump started talking about Balogun’s suspension being suspended and everybody sat a little closer to the edge of their seats. Trump confirmed that he had intervened directly with Fifa. He accused the referee of being “suspect” and insisted that the tournament needed to have Balogun back on the pitch.
Republican senator Ted Cruz then somehow said the quiet part louder than Trump, which I presumed was scientifically impossible. Thanking Trump for getting the red card removed, Cruz said: “There was a reason the Fifa trophy sat here for as long as it did”.
By any reasonable measure, that should be enough to launch an investigation that could see the USA kicked out of the World Cup. Fifa’s statutes bar Governmental or ministerial interference. It’s hard to see how this doesn’t meet the criteria. But then, obviously: we are not living in reasonable times.
