re: Balogun will be available to play the USMNT’s round of 16 match. Suspension delayed.

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has anyone seen the bs article from ESPN?

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Who wants to win if victory becomes tainted by murky interventions that take place without any explanation or transparency?

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I'm amazed that there are actually people that go through life thinking this way, as if we're inside some Matt Christopher kids book.

Timeline of the red card


Sophia Cai
@SophiaCai99

FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen U.S. government & soccer officials:

- Wednesday after U.S.-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup and regularly before that.)

- Wed night: Giuliani, Lutnick and U.S. Soccer officials began activating on plans to challenge red card

- That kicked off 4 days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering & diplomacy that stretched from Oval Office to Zurich

- On *Thursday* Trump dialed Gianni Infantino and asked abt FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and grounds for suspension. (They’ve known each other for 8 yrs.)

- FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.

- As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared & submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani + Lutnick offered to make White House attorneys available to assist

- At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped pay the salary of Mauricio Pochettino — zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus

-Articles examining previous controversies involving Claus circulated among senior gov officials as they evaluated every argument that could bolster the appeal

- On FIFA side, Emilio García, who oversees the legal affairs of FIFA, advised Infantino on the available procedural options

- García + other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited

- By Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension would be suspended

- FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.

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Amazing when you think how busy Trump was with 4th of July and America 250 stuff going on practically 24/7. He still took time to work on this. And all the other folks who took time as well. America finally put the weight into soccer as all other countries do. And they’re pissed about it.

This WC is full of surprises. From a majority of foreign fans who found out they were lied to about America to how great our team is playing to getting POTUS involved in red card to how many great games we’ve seen.

Our team needs to do us proud tonight. And the ref tonight now knows US does not take a back seat to BS and is on notice to ref fair.

I don’t. I find it hard to believe they’d announce Balogun is good to play only to come back and say just kidding. They gave them the right to appeal as a procedural matter. No way they go back on allowing Balogun to play.

He should not be playing. He isn’t really an American.

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Andrew Giuliani

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"Oh yeah! Go USA!

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He was born in New York City.

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To Nigerian parents who were living in London on vacation in the US. They moved back to London soon after. That’s not a true American. This birthright shite needs to end

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That’s not a true American. This birthright shite needs to end

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Amazing when you think how busy Trump was with 4th of July and America 250 stuff going on practically 24/7. He still took time to work on this. And all the other folks who took time as well. America finally put the weight into soccer as all other countries do. And they’re pissed about it. This WC is full of surprises. From a majority of foreign fans who found out they were lied to about America to how great our team is playing to getting POTUS involved in red card to how many great games we’ve seen.

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I said elsewhere on this site and still maintain that the World Cup is an international event showcasing the home country/countries, bringing in hundreds of thousands (probably millions?) of international travelers causing significant stress to the home countries infrastructure. Same as an Olympics.


If the President was NOT paying attention I’d be more upset than having him lobby for this.