For the second time in 2026, America’s lonely TV feel-good moment has turned into a referendum on the infighting over the Trump administration.
The reason for this? Trump administration.
Mostly.
The president’s maneuver this weekend to request a “review” from FIFA president Gianni Infantino of the red card shown to American striker Folarin Balogun, not surprisingly, has drawn the wrath of everyone you would expect to be upset, and everyone you thought would stand up for defending the move.
It all comes together to make what has been a nonpartisan story of USMNT success — they play Belgium in the round of 16 Monday night on Fox and Telemundo in what will be a ratings extravaganza — a partisan story, through no fault of the team.
Just as the USA Hockey Team’s gold medal win over Canada at the Olympics in February became a partisan story, through no fault of the team’s.
As you no doubt know, the US Men’s National Team was a huge story at the World Cup with a 2-1 win in the group stage and then a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina despite one player being underplayed for most of the second half.
Their story has become an inspiring one with truly good people and a multi-ethnic team – coach Mauricio Pochettino from Argentina, star winger Christina Pulisic from Pennsylvania, attacking midfielder Malik Tilleman who grew up in Germany, striker Balogun as a British-Nigerian (born in Brooklyn while his parents were on a trip here), Mexican-American striker Ricardo Pepe and right-back Tim Weah, the New York-raised son of the man who later became the Liberian president. The team also includes the only known Jewish World Cup player in goalkeeper Matt Turner. The club came together with tight defending (and a lovely direct free-kick) to win a knockout match for the first time in 24 years.
It was no coincidence that the game attracted 33 million viewers on Fox and Telemundo, the largest number of viewers for an American football game the length of three fields. After decades of soccer fans trying to get American viewers to watch it, this entertaining story has finally achieved its goal.
As you are also no doubt aware, Trump did not like Balogun receiving a red card for what appeared to be an inadvertent step on a contested ball on his ankle. Trump (in fairness, like many Americans) quickly realized that this meant the Belgium match would be suspended. So, this weekend, he called Infantino, who had recently awarded him his “Peace Prize,” clearly playing obedience to Trump. (Haven’t these people heard about back channels?) The decision was quickly overturned under so-called “Rule 27”, which FIFA reserves for such moments, and announced on Sunday.
By Monday morning, the battle lines were drawn, and you could draw them without opening your eyes. Europe was rebellious. The European Football Association (UEFA) described this decline as “incomprehensible and unjustified.” The Norwegian coach described this as a big mistake. Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said sarcastically, “I did not know that July 5 was April 1.”
On the other hand, Infantino raised his hands more dramatically than Messi after the challenge, and said that “FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent.” “I don’t think it was a mistake,” Trump said. Trump supporter and Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas, “President of Soccer” Lalas, went on Fox News to literally say: “Take it to FIFA.”
(The fact that the whole thing is happening on Fox News’ sister channel Fox Sports only exacerbates the issue; will European commentators like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry join their continental siblings in protesting on Monday night, or will they be gently encouraged to do so?)
Trump’s inclusion in what should have been an ongoing Hollywood story (“Maybe Trump just broke the World Cup,” New York (the magazine said) gave shivers and awe to any fan who had longed for a great story. Just like when Kash Patel showed up in the men’s hockey locker room in Milan, Trump then invited the club to the State of the Union address for the gold medal. Many who watched this win with pure joy on NBC on Sunday suddenly felt as if they had become accustomed to SOTU’s Tuesday webcast.
Now the same thing is happening again. Some liberal fans who dislike the president have been flocking to social media, saying they support Belgium. Even if you don’t go that far, things look tainted. Trump said reinstating his position would help because losing the United States would feel fraudulent (to him). Of course, a US victory will now appear rigged (to everyone). So much for the miracle in Nice.
ESPN columnist Sam Borden described the patriotic sentiment as “an uncomfortable paradox, a mixture of joy tinged with a healthy sliver of unease.”
Another way to say it: a lot of pure Knicks emotion.
So, while all of this may have increased the USMNT’s chances of winning on the field, it lessened the team’s chances of winning as part of an explosion of national solidarity, which is the point of all these international sporting tournaments in the first place. And it’s all because of one call Infantino made that he appeared to act on. (Seriously, haven’t these people ever heard of backchannels?)
But don’t feel bad for Belgium and its pearls. Many football experts believe Balogun’s move does not deserve a red card.
Among the things that were also lost is that FIFA canceled the three-match ban imposed on Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo before the tournament, and established Article 27 so that he could do specifically that. Meanwhile, there is one story – from a veteran sportswriter in the Murdoch family New York Post -You mentioned that Trump may not have had much to do with the coup. Instead, it came after legal threats from the US Soccer Federation. Of course this wouldn’t matter: once Trump said he was the reason, the world (and him) would believe he was the reason.
So you can blame Donald Trump for calling out Infantino (seriously, haven’t these people ever heard of backchannels?!?) even when you can’t also blame Donald Trump for trying to exploit a system that many have exploited before. CNN noted, “The integrity of the tournament has been called into question by the apparent actions of one man and his extremely close relationship with the FIFA president.” And I can’t help but say: Are you new here? If you thought the integrity and governance of the tournament were untouchable before Donald Trump took his cell phone out of his pocket, then you clearly haven’t watched the World Cup. For 40 years.
“The World Cup is not supposed to be political!” shouts some non-American fans, which is the funniest thing to be said at this tournament. Zlatan was very happy.
The real losers in all this? Who else — fans. Those of us who really wanted to cheer on the U.S. men’s team this Monday night as part of a patriotic moment. At least with hockey it wasn’t destroyed until after that.
What’s ironic is that Trump is doing this divisive thing while trying to create another unifying miracle on the ice. He clearly loves the television event, which he watched in his early 30s after growing up in the shadow of the Cold War. He included her in his montage of “America’s Eras Tour” two different times that weekend and somewhat randomly hosted 13 members of her team at the White House in December to award them a Congressional Gold Medal.
But the miracle on ice was a country that triumphed while united against a foreign enemy, not a country that triumphed while divided among itself.
Trump can complain Which Landscape but, okay.
Come to think of it, like FIFA. A group that has repeatedly created optics for its seat and played blatant favorites, now complains of being discriminated against. UEFA doesn’t have a clean sheet here either. I would give anything to know what the Portuguese delegate said (or did not say) when his union was drafting this statement.
So, from the Sure, you will have a reason to complain about FIFA and Donald Trump. But also look at the bigger picture. For example, liberal American fans of Belgium might want to be gently nudged before donning a Red Devils uniform: Belgium’s current prime minister is Bart de Wever, a right-wing Flemish nationalist who models himself on Margaret Thatcher.
There are no easy or good moves here. Just anger and hypocrisy. Hey, at least people will watch.
