Big football or big politics? Trump at center of major controversy surrounding FIFA

At the Alpha News studio in Los Angeles, journalist Robert Gasparyan commented on a major sports scandal that has drawn the attention of the American and international press, with Donald Trump, President of the United States, as its central figure.

As is known, Folarin Balogun, forward for the US national team, received a red card in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was set to miss the crucial game against Belgium. However, one phone call from Donald Trump to the FIFA president changed everything.

“One call from Donald Trump turned the situation around: they found some clause in the regulations and brought the forward back into the US national team’s lineup. But in the end, the team suffered a heavy defeat to Belgium, 1–4. As they say, karma’s law,” Gasparyan noted.

The journalist called the incident “a typical Trumpist approach” and stressed that the scandal triggered a huge wave of sarcasm and memes online.

“Imagine if legendary goalkeeper Oliver Kahn had asked for Michael Ballack’s yellow card to be overturned in the semifinal of the 2002 World Cup, the one that caused him to miss the final. Let’s overturn that too, while we’re at it,” Gasparyan added.