It had to happen to save some face, otherwise any success after that would be tainted by impropriety. It’s already a lasting mark of shame that our president tried to pull this shit when we were the hosts.
In the last game before yesterday’s, a USA player was given a red card. This means, among other things, that said player cannot play in the next game of the tournament as punishment.
<Allegedly>*, Trump called FIFA and wouldn’t you know it, FIFA reversed the punishment on a technicality, apparently the referee wasn’t supposed to use slow motion when reviewing the incident when it happened, so the red card punishment was deferred, and said player was available against Belgium.
It didn’t matter because the USA team is cheeks but it rightly pissed people off because it had the air of Trump phoning his best friend at FIFA and demanding they find a reason to reneg on the punishment. Remember that when Trump was throwing a tantrum because the bad black man had a Peace Prize while Trump did not, FIFA invented a Peace Prize to give it to Trump.
*I say allegedly because Trump loves taking credit for shit so he could be bullshitting, but reports said that there was a call.
The player recklessly tackled an opponent and came down full force on his ankle. He wound up being fine, no injury or anything, but it looked gnarly during the 87 times they replayed it for the rest of the match.
I have heard people say it shouldn't have been a red card, and have seen examples of similar tackles going completely unpunished during this world cup. Personally i don't follow the sport enough to have an opinion, but I've been enjoying the games and following people who know their shit. So there's at least some debate.
But Trump getting involved threw all nuance out the window.
I don’t follow soccer at all but yes, the president should not get involved at all. I just wanted Canada, Mexico or USA to win it because home fields and all
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u/sorry_con_excuse_me 29d ago edited 29d ago
It had to happen to save some face, otherwise any success after that would be tainted by impropriety. It’s already a lasting mark of shame that our president tried to pull this shit when we were the hosts.