Red Card Reversal Leaves An Orange Stain On World Cup Match

In his 1974 novel Dead Solid Perfect, Dan Jenkins wrote the line “Anything you can’t fuck up, you’ll shit on.” I’m sure he couldn’t anticipate the rise of Trumpism, but that applies to the current President.

I feel the Red Card against Folarin Balogun was bullshit. But it happens. Bad calls are always made by sports officials. Whether or not Balogun stepping on the ankle of a Bosnia player was an accident or intentional, it happens in sports. A batter belts a grand slam and the next at bat gets beaned. Accident or intentional? It happens. 

In the heat of sports, tension run high and sometimes people do the wrong thing. And sometimes it looks like they did the wrong thing.

Sadly, Balogun’s violation would’ve stayed and the outcome of tonight’s game might have been the same. The problem is that when word came out that you know who had come out, made a call to appeal the violation and FIFA complied, it ruined the outcome regardless. 

If USA had won, it would’ve been an asterisk. And then people were rooting for Belgium and they’re glad they won. The same people who scream “There’s no ‘I’ in Team” now said that other teams got preferential treatment. That’s a maybe but his relation with FIFA is already controversial especially with that “peace prize.”

Now FIFA will allow him to present the winning team the trophy. And we saw what happened last year when he presented a trophy. He has to make everything about himself, even when it isn’t. Someone online commented it’s treating the President like a Make-A-Wish kid. 

And they’re already calling it the Red Card Jinx. The New York Knicks lost the only game in the championship and it was the one where he was in attendance. Belgium may have still won if Balogun was still suspended. It was Malik Tillman who scored the sole goal for USA in the 4-1 match. 

But it could’ve been a real squeaker with a closer score. Instead the man who bankrupted a casino had to overstep his role.

Now the big question is what is FIFA getting out of this. He’s not the person who does things out of the goodness of his own heart. 

Hopefully he will be gone in more ways than one come 2030. It was a good run while it lasted…for Team USA that is.