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Malcolm Knox<\/a>Journalist, author and columnist<\/p>\nJuly 7, 2026 \u2014 3:30pm<\/p>\n
July 7, 2026 \u2014 3:30pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s latest gift to Donald Trump, its twisting, weaving run around its own rules to allow US striker Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium on Tuesday<\/a>, is nothing if not consistent.<\/p>\n Gianni Infantino had already turned the football organisation into a servant of the White House, and this action is perfectly in line with Infantino\u2019s invention of a FIFA Peace Prize for the US President last December<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Trump presidency, rife with allegations relating to racketeers, insider-traders and brown paper bag merchants, is a natural ally for FIFA.<\/p>\n Trump decided, with his years of soccer expertise, that Balogun\u2019s red card for stomping on the leg of a Bosnia and Herzegovina player in the previous round, automatically ruling him out of the Belgium tie, was invalid and had to be overturned<\/a>.<\/p>\n So he made a call to Infantino to ask whether it could be reviewed.<\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s history of criminality makes it a perfect receptacle for phone calls from a \u201cboss man\u201d.<\/p>\n Most laughable in the reaction to the scandal has been a social media post from former FIFA president Sepp Blatter<\/a>, who, in dismay at his successor\u2019s venality, asked FIFA, \u2018Quo Vadis?\u2019 (Latin for \u2018Where are you going?\u2019). The world might ask Blatter, \u2018Quo venisti?\u201d (\u2018Where have you come from?\u2019) FIFA\u2019s rap sheet of corrupt and felonious behaviour, under Blatter and his mentor Joao Havelange, is about as long as Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n The many accusations of FIFA as a rotten body are correct, but they have also been correct for at least half a century and have never made any difference.<\/p>\n What is not consistent \u2013 and therefore eye-catching amid the ordure and open transactionalism \u2013 is that in other circumstances, Trump\u2019s America would be kicking in Balogun\u2019s door and bundling him off to detention and deportation.<\/p>\n Balogun is less American than tens of thousands of victims of Trump\u2019s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. In 2001, when his Nigerian-born, British-domiciled mother was seven months pregnant, she visited New York to have her child. The Baloguns lived in the US for four months either side of the birth, before returning to their home in England.<\/p>\n Folarin became a star striker at a young age, coming through Arsenal\u2019s academy and representing England from under-17 to under-21 levels. His professional club career has been exclusively in England and France. Only in 2023, after failing to make the England team, did he respond to American invitations to make himself eligible. He had also reportedly been interested in representing Nigeria.<\/p>\n Balogun is an American only by birth, a mode of citizenship qualification that Trump\u2019s White House has tried its hardest to rescind.<\/p>\n In 2024, Trump also issued an executive order specifically against \u201cbirth tourism\u201d, which Balogun\u2019s parents had undertaken.<\/p>\n The US Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship, against the Trump administration\u2019s arguments, just last month. You couldn\u2019t make it up.<\/p>\n Given Balogun\u2019s form and delivery as the US team\u2019s key goalscorer in this World Cup, he is not just another player. Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also not just another player, was the previous beneficiary of Infantino\u2019s personal fiat in overturning a \u201cmandatory\u201d ban so that he could play in the opening round of this World Cup.<\/p>\n What is somewhat new about this latest transaction is how brazen and self-advertising it is. Previous FIFA corruption scandals took place in the shadows and were uncovered through investigation. This one was bruited by Trump himself, who has openly boasted about his three phone calls to Infantino to complain about Balogun\u2019s ban. It is Trump\u2019s style to brag about his influence. It is Trump\u2019s history to refuse to accept a referee\u2019s decision. It is Infantino\u2019s obligation to pretend FIFA made its Balogun ruling independently of Trump.<\/p>\n Related Article But the nakedness of the bias was on show when Belgium\u2019s football authorities were only given hours to appeal, were not given the reasons for the decision, and were denied legal standing by FIFA, which ruled that Belgium was not a party to the dispute.<\/p>\n Belgium\u2019s only avenue for response was on the field, and they delivered, crushing the US 4-1. Balogun was supported by the partisan US crowd in Seattle. A Belgian win would be seen as a form of justice and a consoling demonstration that cheats never prosper. But it is only an illusion of justice, contingent, hollow and temporary, while Infantino remains in his job.<\/p>\n Aside from American sympathisers with an instant expertise in the rules and processes of football, the condemnation has been universal.<\/p>\n Infantino\u2019s position as head of FIFA is untenable, but that never stopped Blatter or Havelange. What stands out, with the overall success of the World Cup as a spectacle so far, is how a sport that is so precious to so many, arousing passions on the scale of life and death, remains controlled by men you wouldn\u2019t trust to cash a $20 cheque for you.<\/p>\n Read more of our World Cup coverage<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/aab39882d27029956c8bcb3a904bd1aaf2054b44.jpeg\")
United States\u2019 Folarin Balogun, right, attempts a shot on goal against Belgium in their World Cup round of 16 clash in Seattle.AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3a789d637635a7c088ed7a105033debcf10841a7.jpeg\")
US President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the White House last year.AP<\/p>\n![\"Gianni](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b1149fba28f47ad105ed95138dc745b5bd3bb17f.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f612fecb40df57caf23e0dfc63060880cb51f251.jpeg\")
US star Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina didn\u2019t keep him out of action.AP Photo\/Julio Cortez<\/p>\n
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