Kicking & Screaming

The Red Card Seen Round the World

What’s going on: Team USA had its World Cup dreams dashed last night in a blowout 1-4 loss to Belgium, but not before stirring up a whole lot of drama off the pitch. On Sunday, after receiving a phone call from President Trump, FIFA lifted a red card suspension that would have benched US star player Folarin Balogun during last night’s game. FIFA’s decision was extraordinary: A World Cup red card suspension has been lifted only once before... in 1962. This allowed Balogun to start in the Round of 16 matchup — despite Belgium's last-minute appeal. (Though their social media manager did get the final word in after the game.) Balogun got the red card in last week’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, after a slow-motion replay showed that he had stepped on another player's ankle. The ref's on-the-field decision was immediately controversial. But it was Trump’s call — and FIFA lifting Balogun’s suspension — that took this from a hot-button sports story to a political headline.

Switching goals: As an organization, FIFA is no stranger to allegations of corruption. And FIFA president Gianni Infantino hasn’t been shy about his quest to cozy up to President Trump. The timeline of events has certainly raised some eyebrows. Soccer officials now worry about the precedent this sets. Can world leaders just dial up FIFA and get calls reversed? This episode turned the tournament from a fun global monoculture event into another messy example of the Trump administration's strained relations with Europe. Take us back to the days when we all united over how great Waffle House is.

Related: All the Ways Trump Has Damaged Europe-US Relations — Maybe Permanently (The Wall Street Journal Gift Link)