This year’s World Cup has been mired in so much controversy that not even the beautiful and exciting football we’ve seen over the past three weeks can save it.
It started with question marks over fans and officials from certain countries being denied visas by the US government and a Somali referee being denied entry at Miami airport on the grounds that he was linked to “terrorist” groups.
Iran, which was attacked by the US in February, was not sure if it would be allowed to send a team to compete at the tournament. Because they were not allowed to set up base inside the US, despite all their group games being scheduled there, the team had to endure a terrible schedule of commuting between Mexico and the US.
The tournament has been clouded by politics, which have nothing to do with the beautiful game. The latest controversy came this week when US president Donald Trump confirmed he had telephoned Fifa president Gianni Infantino over the red card issued to US striker Folarin Balogun. He was sent off after VAR intervention in the US’s round of 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Replays suggested the decision was harsh, as Balogun had not intentionally injured an opponent, but few could have foreseen that such a routine, on-field decision would require presidential intervention.
Trump is not one to apply logic or filters, so his admission that he spoke to Infantino about the decision, which was overturned to allow Balogun to play (and lose) against Belgium in the round of 16, exposes the fact that Fifa has allowed politicians to meddle in football affairs.
This cannot be condoned. Predictably, Trump’s comments have triggered the ire of high-profile personalities and world football bodies, such as Uefa, who’ve called the decision to suspend Balogun’s red card absurd.
When on-field decisions can be overturned by influential politicians, it sets a dangerous precedent. Infantino, despite his protestations that he had no role in Fifa’s sanctioning committee’s decision to grant Balogun a reprieve, has been tainted because he has ingratiated himself with Trump — a politician who respects no protocols and behaves like a law unto himself.
Infantino, correctly, will face a challenging few months ahead of next year’s Fifa elections, where he will seek another four-year term. Unless he redeems himself in a big way, he’s certain to face stringent opposition because it seems he ceded his presidential powers to Trump.
