Trump and FIFA have tarnished a World Cup for the ages, writes James Hanson

UEFA have rightly called it “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable” and says the integrity of the beautiful game is at stake. What the decision shows us, once and for all, is how football’s governing body is now well and truly in the pocket of Donald Trump.

In case you haven’t been following every twist and turn of this remarkable episode, let me bring you up to speed. Balogun, one of America’s star players at the tournament so far, was sent off in their Round of 32 tie with Bosnia after his foot accidentally landed on an opposing player's ankle. It was a harsh red card, and many will feel he should never have been ineligible for tonight’s clash with Belgium as a result, but FIFA’s rules are clear: there is no official process for appealing and overturning a wrongful dismissal.

Except, it seems, if the President of the United States gets involved. It’s been widely reported that Trump personally called FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday and raised the issue of Balogun’s suspension. So when FIFA announced yesterday that Balogun would be allowed to face Belgium in the Round of 16 after all, the logical conclusion was obvious: Infantino had bowed to pressure from the White House. Then, to further remove any doubt, Trump issued a statement thanking FIFA for “reversing a great injustice”.

I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised by FIFA’s craven appeasement of Trump. This is, after all, the organisation that invented a Peace Prize for the sole purpose of massaging his already oversized ego. As if to underline the absurdity of it all, in the months since Trump has deposed the leader of Venezuela, threatened to annex Greenland, and started a war with Iran.

But what makes the Balogun controversy all the more shameful is how it has tarnished what is otherwise turning into an all-time classic World Cup. This tournament is routinely producing encounters with entertainment value worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster - with last night’s heroic England victory over Mexico foremost among them. The world’s greatest players are delivering their best, with Messi, Mbappé, Haaland and Kane locked in a titanic struggle for the Golden Boot award. Even off the pitch, the way fans from across the globe have united behind their mutual love of the beautiful game has served as a timely reminder of sport’s enduring ability to inspire.

It has also been wonderful to watch the US team, so long a sleeping giant of international football, win the attention and affection of their countrymen and women. The very fact that Trump is taking such a keen interest in their progress speaks volumes about the extent to which ‘soccer’ has well and truly arrived in the American national consciousness. And yet, sadly, because of the unmerited interference of Trump and the unprecedented cowardice of FIFA, almost every neutral fan will be rooting for Belgium tonight and hoping the USA are eliminated.

It’s a great pity for Balogun, too, whose name will now be associated with one of the most shameful episodes in World Cup history, despite his impressive on-field performances and blameless personal conduct. In a further dark irony, were Balogun not such a talented footballer, one imagines Trump would be lobbying for his deportation, given he is only eligible to play for the US through the birthright citizenship principle that this White House is currently trying to revoke.

I never thought I’d be nostalgic for the days of Sepp Blatter, but it’s hard to disagree with the former FIFA president when, reacting to the Balogun controversy, he stated “football must never become a playground for political power”. Not for the first time, Gianni Infantino’s FIFA has brought shame upon the global game. Let’s hope the on-field action dominates the headlines for the rest of the tournament.

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Listen to James Hanson on LBC on weekends between 4 and 7am.

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