A football player received a red card during an intercontinental match, and could receive a "one-year suspension" without being expelled from the game. This rare occurrence happened during this World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and it may also be related to U.S. President Trump.
According to the European edition of POLITICO EU, a professional translator, reported on July 6 local time, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot criticized a decision just made by FIFA. The decision overturned the penalty of one match suspension that was imposed on American forward Baroni due to a red card. This suspension was supposed to keep him out of the important World Cup match between the United States and Belgium.
Prew in a statement to POLITICO EU said: "As a former football referee, I have always been committed to upholding rules and ensuring fair judgments. This decision clearly raises many questions. If it was indeed a phone call that led to this puzzling decision, it would be tantamount to breaking the most fundamental rules of football and sports." He also questioned whether FIFA has the ability to "convincingly advocate for fairness."
Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Maxim Prouveaux, in a profile photograph.
Previously, according to a report by NBC on July 5th local time, FIFA announced that American player Baloteng, who was sent off with a red card during the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1st, would be suspended for one match. However, the suspension will be postponed by one year. This means that Baloteng will be able to play in the World Cup quarter-final match against Belgium.
Barrogon is a key player for the United States team. In the group match against Paraguay, Barrogon scored two goals, helping the United States win 4-1. In the round of 16 match against Bosnia, Barrogon scored a goal in the 45th minute, leading the United States to a 2-0 victory. Currently, he has already scored three goals during this World Cup, making him the leading scorer for the United States team.
According to disclosures by POLITICO, on the night when Barogong received the red card, the White House had already decided to take action regarding this red-card incident. Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House World Cup Task Force, even warned Trump that Barogong might miss the next critical elimination game.
According to reports, although appeals for red cards during the World Cup are extremely rare, Julianney, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lautenburg, and senior officials from the U.S. Football Federation immediately took action, engaging in four days of coordination, legal lobbying, and diplomatic mediation.
According to Politico, on July 2 local time, Trump called FIFA president Infantino and asked FIFA about the rules regarding red cards and suspensions. Infantino listened carefully to the questions but did not make any promises regarding the outcome.
Currently, FIFA refuses to confirm any specific details of the discussion, but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend Barroso for one match was made by an “independent disciplinary committee”.
It is worth noting that Trump also posted a tweet later, praising FIFA's decision, but did not mention that he had contacted Infantino.
American team forward Flaring Balongon IC photo
According to reports, in addition to Pravo, other Belgian officials and politicians have also questioned the legality of FIFA’s decision.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded to this matter in a sarcastic manner. He shared a photo of his cat on social media, captioning it with: “Red card? I still want to play.”
The Belgian Football Association said it is 'shocked' by FIFA's decision to lift the suspension. The association stated: 'In order to protect the legal rights of all participating teams and to defend the fundamental principle of fair play in this sport—whether at this FIFA World Cup or in future competitions—the Belgian Football Association is examining all possible options.'
In a press conference on July 5th local time, Rudi Garcia, the coach of the Belgian team, ridiculed this surprising decision.
When talking about the statement of the Belgian Football Federation, he said: “I didn’t know before that July 5th here happens to be the same as April 1st in Europe (April Fools’ Day). This is something I have never heard of before.”
In addition, England's head coach Tito Vilanova also expressed a clear stance on this matter.
"To be clear, that wasn't originally a red flag. VAR intervened and the penalty has already been determined. So who overturned this decision? When? On what basis? This makes me quite puzzled. We hope the scale of penalties remains consistent."
He said, “I think the move by Declan Rice (the English midfielder) wasn’t even a yellow card. The French team appealed against the red card given to Michael Olise—a decision that shouldn’t have been a yellow card at all. Can such an appeal be successful? Where does this precedent begin, and where does it end? Should we also appeal against the red card given to Quanessa during the match against Mexico?”
It's worth mentioning that after England defeated Mexico, Trump also posted on social media to praise England's forward Harry Kane. When asked whether Harry Kane should contact Trump to request a disqualification of Quanzasa's red card, Tuhrer replied with a smile, "Maybe."
