SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Sports is very often about more than what happens on the field, and that is definitely the case with Today's World Cup Round of 16 match between the United States and Belgium. We are talking, of course, about FIFA's decision to allow U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play in today's game, delaying a one-match ban Balogun received following the red card for dangerous play that he picked up in the previous game against Bosnia. FIFA announced that reversal yesterday, and today, President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters at the White House that he had personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review Balogun's ban.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But all I did - all I did - I asked for a review 'cause I didn't think it was a foul.
DETROW: The reversal by soccer's global governing body has been widely criticized ahead of today's match. Franklin Foer is a staff writer for the Atlantic and someone who has written and spoken a lot about the mix of politics and soccer. He is also the author of "How Soccer Explains The World" and joins us now. Welcome.
FRANKLIN FOER: Hi.
DETROW: What, if anything, of all of this surprised you?
FOER: The overtness of it all. I mean, I know that Donald Trump likes to boast about how he's able to shift outcomes. And in order to claim credit for something that I think he believes will make him enormously popular here at home, he's just trumpeted the fact that he has used his relationship with FIFA and Gianni Infantino in order to get this decision that he wants. And so it's - there's nothing that's happening underneath the table, behind closed doors. This is all happening out in the wide open.
DETROW: How does this compare - before we talk a little bit more about the moment, just putting in this context. How does this compare to what I think would widely reviewed as run-of-the-mill corruption that often comes along with FIFA decision-making over the years?
FOER: All right. So we have to say that this is perfectly consistent with FIFA's and soccer's long history of political leaders trying to shape the outcomes of World Cup soccer matches. If we went back to 1934, there are stories about Benito Mussolini having dinner with the referee who was refereeing Italy on the eve of that World Cup final. And there are instances of military dictatorships in Brazil and Argentina bringing political pressure to bear on World Cup refereeing decisions and the like. And so this isn't novel. It hasn't happened for many, many decades, which is why it feels like it's kind of this shock to the system...
DETROW: Yeah.
FOER: ...And is coming out of the blue. And the fact that it's happened before doesn't mean that it's acceptable this time.
DETROW: You had written about the fact that Donald Trump, that President Trump, had really attached himself to FIFA, attached himself to this World Cup, tried to make it a personal branding thing. And yet, over the last few weeks, he had receded from the scene. There was such a focus on the amazing play so far. Now, to you, is this World Cup all about what Trump did, at least in this moment?
FOER: Yeah, I mean, one of the things that's so amazing about a World Cup, if we just flash back before this whole fiasco occurred, was the way in which the game is so profoundly equalizing; that on this weekend, we watched Cape Verde, a country with half a million people go toe to toe with Argentina, which is one - which has Lionel Messi, the greatest player, perhaps, of all time and has won all these World Cups. And they were able to face each other on the soccer pitch, and there was nothing that separated the two teams. Their population size, their political power didn't matter.
But then to have a country's political power affecting the outcome in this tangible way, even if the decision was in isolation. Just it's - there's something called the rule of law, and we know about this in our own court system. And it happens in sports as well that there is a set of procedures that the red card was called on the field by the referee. It was reviewed by the video assistant referee. And that's a final decision. And we - whether we like the outcomes of elections or court decisions, part about being a citizen of a system is that we have to accept the results. And the FIFA system didn't allow for any possibility for appeal. And then Trump's - because he has this long relationship with FIFA and Infantino, he's able to wield his power in order to get the outcome that he desires. That's not available to any other nation in the world.
DETROW: Yeah. On the other hand...
FOER: On the other hand.
DETROW: ...Trump is not alone. On the other hand - I guess there's several on the other hand here, but let's take one of them. Trump is not alone in saying this was a pretty dubious call to begin with. Does that factor into how you're thinking about this at all?
FOER: When I first saw the notification on my phone that this was being overturned, I - my first reaction was justice has been served because I was fuming after Balogun got that red card. It just - it felt to me like a pretty dubious red card, maybe even a dubious yellow card. And I was jumping with joy. And then I started to think through the implications of everything that had happened and the way in which this is going to blow back on the U.S. national team.
So if they win tonight with Balogun on the pitch, it's going to taint that victory in the eyes of the world. And so that makes - the more I thought about it - it didn't take me too long, but the more I thought about it, the more deeply uncomfortable I felt, but also just sad that this thing that's been such a marvelous experience, this great festival of unity with the Scotts coming in and drinking Boston dry, with the way in which all these fans have come to this country and rediscovered their affection and love for America, even for ranch dressing and then to have that all kind of come crashing down because of this one moment, it really undermined something that was - that felt pure and good.
DETROW: All right. So Franklin Foer, let me ask you this. You have thought a lot about all of the conflicting storylines we're talking about right now. You are also cheering for the U.S. men's national team as a fan. What, to you, is the best-case scenario for tonight's match, given all of this?
FOER: There is no best-case scenario anymore because I still want these guys to win. I really like this team, and the way that they've played over the course of this tournament has been so - has just been so dazzling. They've played with swagger. They've been entertaining. It's been a really joyous thing to watch this team and the way that they've connected to fans and the way that they've connected the nonsoccer-following universe to the soccer-following universe. And so I don't want them to fail. I still want them to succeed. I would love it if some of the players could maybe speak out and say something that distances themselves from this advantage that they've had.
But I fear what's going to happen is that this is just going to open up - you know, this is occurring in a political context where Europe and the United States are drifting away from one another on so many other fronts. And it seems like Europe has kind of seized on this as an example of the way, you know, correctly so - it's the way the United States under Trump has thrown around its power. And so it's just, again, so devastating to see something that could have bridged the divide become another flashpoint that's going to separate us.
DETROW: Franklin Foer, staff writer for the Atlantic, also the author of "How Soccer Explains The World." Thank you so much.
FOER: Thank you.
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