Trump and the red card reversal | About That

Tonight, Filarin Balagan rises from the ashes.The U .S.'s leading goal scorer this World Cup wasn't supposed to play tonight's elimination match against Belgium.He was facing an automatic one -game suspension after stepping on a Bosnian defender's ankle at his last game.That was a red card.And a red card during the World Cup meant the U .

S.should have to play tonight's round of 16 knockout match against Belgium without one of its most dangerous finishers.But then, very soon after the red card, Donald Trump calls the head of FIFA directly and brings it up.

I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul.I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.

And sure enough, over the weekend, word gets out without much explanation.The one game suspension has been mysteriously lifted.Balligan will play.How'd that happen?It's not a surprise that fans have mixed opinions on the red card itself.They insist it doesn't look intentional, just unlucky the way it happened.

But what is a surprise is that FIFA has almost never reversed a suspension handed out when a player gets a World Cup red card.In 188 other red cards in tournament history, only once has a player not served his suspension.And that was all the way back in 1962.We have this question, how can FIFA just break its own rule?The only explanation it's given is citing Article 27 of its disciplinary code, which gives FIFA this extraordinary and fairly arbitrary power to decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.When can you use this power?

Doesn't say.So, translation, when a player is suspended, Article 27 allows FIFA to just decide with no justification whatsoever to suspend the suspension.The timing of Trump's phone call with FIFA's presidentraises this question of political interference attacking the integrity of the game.Trump and Gianni Infantino are friends.They sometimes travel together.

Infantino was at the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt last year.He also created last year a brand new FIFA Peace Prize, which Donald Trump won after he was snubbed for the Nobel version.FIFA has reportedly been leasing office space on the 17th floor of Trump Tower, with rent going to Trump's family business.Infantino has been to the White House, to Mar -a -Lago, to the premiere of the Melania documentary.And while you expect there to be a certain level of diplomacy between FIFA and any host country, the question now is, has a line been crossed?History tells us Balogun should not be playing tonight, but he will be.

He might be the key to the U .S.advancing deeper into the tournament.And the Trump administration is very happy about that.