OMG! USA Soccer PLAYERS ALL QUIT TEAM and BLAME TRUMP for BELGIUM Defeat?!

And fans everywhere, quite frankly, erupted, many in anger.Belgium asked FIFA for an explanation, which FIFA treated as an appeal.Just a short time ago, FIFA said that appeal was denied.In fact, we can now report that that's it.The star striker makes it to the pitch.UEFA, meantime, Europe's governing body for football, says the integrity of the game is at stake.

It called FIFA's decision unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustified.As for the U .S.

president, he says he did nothing wrong.

FIFA's president, Gianni Infantino, says there is nothing unusual about getting a phone call from President Trump, since world leaders call him all the time.He adds the decision to allow Balogun to play was made by an independent FIFA committee without any interference.OK, you are all caught up and now we are going to dive in.World Sports Amanda Davis and Stephen Collinson joins us from Washington.All right.We're going to try and reset here so we understand what's happened and what may happen going forward.

Amanda, to start with, Infantino went out of his way to stress that FIFA's judicial bodies are independent.They operate independently.autonomously.So how did this reversal of the red card come about?And I'm really leaning on your experience here, because I know you know a lot about how this goes down, even in other contexts.

Paula, I mean, it has been an extraordinary 48 hours.Let's start there.And you have to say unprecedented, that very much is the word.But let me just highlight the irony of what is happening here.You mentioned Belgium's appeal that took placeThat has been dismissed for this reason.

The request was rendered inadmissible on the grounds that the RBFA, that's the Belgian Football Association, is not a party to the proceedings and as such has no standing to appeal the decision.So the question I ask you is are How exactly is the President of the United States a party to these proceedings who has standing to appeal the decision of his national football team?absolutely, explicitly written in FIFA, World Football's governing body, their statutes, that there must be no political interference in football proceedings.We have seen national federations, associations suspended, the likes of Kenya, the likes of Pakistan, for doing just that.How has this come about?Well, you have to.

Whatever Gianni Infantino says, his attempts to distance himself from the proceedings, you have to say that this has come about because of the relationship, the personal relationship that has developed between Infantino and President Trump.over the years.Balogun is one of 13 players who have been sent off up to this point at this World Cup.As far as we're aware, there has been no review of the other 12 red cards that have taken place up to this point.And yes, President Trump has the ability to pick up the phone to Gianni Infantino, but it is raising serious, serious questions about their relationship.And as UEFA, European football's governing body, put it, the crossing of that red line.

There is a big difference, isn't there, between a relationship that relates to the logistical, organisational points of staging one of thesesporting events on the planet.And then that relationship interfering on the footballing field of play at the biggest competition in the world.And that is what we're talking about.

Yeah, and that personal relationship between Infantino and the president has been well documented.Stephen, to you now in Washington, the president did have a lot to say in the Oval Office.He likely didn't do the USA or himself any favors.I do want you to listen first, though, to Belgium's foreign minister, because to Amanda's point, who has standing if not Belgium, if Donald Trump has standing?Listen.

Well, as a former football referee myself, I have always been committed to upholding the rules and ensuring fair decisions.And this decision, let's be frank, raises a lot of questions.If it is really one phone call, that led to such an incomprehensible decision.That would be a flagrant breach of the most basic rules of football and sports.And that would be very serious.Or, for instance, could FIFA continue to advocate for fair play with any credibility?

So, let's hope that the Belgian team will give the best answer on the ground in the coming hours.

The world's biggest sporting event has suddenly become a political story, all thanks to Donald Trump.Trump confirmed today that he asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review the suspension of American star forward Fularín Balogón, who received a red card last week for tonight's World Cup knockout match against Belgium.And in an extraordinary move, FIFA did lift that suspension.Trump basically put it all out in the open this morning, admitting he involved himself in the decision.Watch.

I spoke to Johnny, who's highly respected, who's produced the most successful World Cup in history by, they say, four times.This isn't just a success.I actually said, Johnny, we've got all these games.Each one is turning out to be a Super Bowl.I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports and was a good athlete, and I understand sports really well, really well.And that wasn't a foul.

That wasn't even an infraction.So, yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.I spoke to a man who's highly respected.If they wouldn't allow, you know, a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best players on the team to play, I think it would have had a big stain.And I related just that feel.I didn't tell him what to do.

I can't tell him what to do.But and I don't believe he made the decision.I think it was a committee that made the decision and they made the right decision.

The close relationship between Gianni Infantino and Trump has increasingly drawn scrutiny over the last year, with Infantino personally inventing a FIFA Peace Prize to bestow upon Trump at the same time that Trump was ordering lethal strikes in the Caribbean, and with FIFA opening an office inside Trump Tower in New York.This latest show, though, of preferential treatment is leaving many U .S.fans feeling conflicted about cheering on the return of their star player, and the rest of the soccer world left outraged.Belgium appealed the decision to allow Balogun to play this morning, hours before the high stakes match is going to take place.That appeal was denied this afternoon by FIFA.

I want to bring in national sports columnist and professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, Kevin Blackistone, also joining us, former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs during the Obama administration.Political analyst Rick Stengel is here and Eamon is still here at the table with me.Kevin, I'm going to start with you.Questions over to you.red card, put aside for a second.Just how much has the political influence seen throughout this entire tournament been a stain on the World Cup?

Well, it's been a stain that's not going to go away.And if the US is fortunate to beat Belgium this evening, it's going to be with an asterisk on that win, because that's what Donald Trump has done.He has stained this entire event.I said before the World Cup came here, after it was certain to be here, after it started, I wrote it.This country, with the Trump administration, is unfit to host any global sporting event, given its unethical and immoral treatment of our foreign neighbors and citizens.And we've seen it play out throughout this entire World Cup, from a referee who was not allowed to do his job here because of his nationality, to the way the Iranian team has been treated as if they're some sort of terrorist cell.

And now you have this.I said that we often say that game respects game.Well, corruption respects corruption, too.And that's exactly what we've had here.And maybe the worst part of it is that this isn't a FIFA event that has been corrupted in the bidding process, which we hear so much about and have read so much about.But now the actual game itself that is going to be played before tens of millions of people has been corrupted.

And maybe the outcome of that has been changed because of Donald Trump's desire to put his thumb on the outcome.That really hasn't happened before, but that has happened this time.

Eamon, I want to read for you.The FIFA president put out a statement today that some people thought was a little too little too late.FIFA's judicial bodies are independent.He said they operate autonomously, apply the FIFA disciplinary code and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them.Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football.your reaction here?

I mean, look, I know that you're you're basically like M .S.

Now's resident soccer experts for anyone.Any of our viewers who didn't already know that.

Amen is the person who explains everything that's going on in soccer to me.So, I mean, do you buy any of this?

It's nonsense.And the reason why it's nonsense, to Kevin's point, which I think is very important, is about how FIFA has conducted itself throughout this tournament.And the reason why that's important is because it's If FIFA was able to stand up and protect its own referee that was denied entry into the United States, if FIFA was able to stand up to Donald Trump and say, look, you're hosting this tournament, we would like for you to treat the Iranian team with the respect and dignity that athletes from around the world deserve.We would like for you to allow them to stay in this country.If they were able to at least express that, you would believe the statement from FIFA today that, hey, our bodies are independent and we don't cave to political pressure.But what we have seen from FIFA throughout this And what we've seen from Infantino particularly, is that he caves to Donald Trump's pressure.

I know this sounds ridiculous and it really shouldn't be this way, but I've never seen like the world, people in that stadium, but soccer fans around the world and people around the world, this angry at Donald Trump, probably since like J6.I know that sounds absurd.Look at all the evil things he's done but it's just such a blatant... mockery of fairness in a sporting event billions around the world care about.Donald Trump did something that, let's be clear, if any president or prime minister or head of state...any other country did this they would be suspended by FIFA it wouldn't just be rejected it wouldn't just be no we're not going to a see you know you know bend to your demand it's this constitutes political interference and as such you are being suspended from FIFA either you for and that would mean forfeiting the rest of the tournament so win or lose tonight the United States has lost Because if they win, there's a big asterisk.If they lose, now everyone's gonna really make fun of Donald Trump.

You think him being made fun of when they lost the Knicks game was bad?This is gonna be way more brutal, because it's not a best -of -seven.There's no coming back here.If the United States loses tonight, Trump will be blamed.People who have visited the United States being like Trump's an a -hole, but God these American people are friggin nice They they're welcoming.They're gracious.

They're tolerant they're interested in learning about different cultures and they're really proud to share like They're like their cities their towns their communities.They're they're like stores and diners and everything, right?It's great.The bars were full everyone having a great time and in one moment Donald Trump ruined that And now the whole thing is overshadowed by him.Instead of cheering on good sport, it's now about booing Donald Trump and chucking things at him.At least, that's my perspective.