By P. Gunasegaram
Donald Trump has abducted the Venezuelan president and his wife, murdered nearly the entire Iranian cabinet in the middle of negotiations, imposed a punishing blockade on Cuba and allowed Israel to commit genocide in Gaza – just some in a long list.
But putting his meddling fingers into the World Cup may get him more notoriety than all the astronomically bad things he has done because of the incredible reach of the world’s most popular game, football to most of us and soccer to others.
By using presidential power and his friendship with the head of the governing authority for football, he managed to reverse the “red card” imposed on a key US player during a World Cup match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. He can now play in the next game from which he was suspended.
Trump may be much more notorious for this effective rigging of the World Cup in favour of the US because football is played throughout the world and the number of people who follow this game may be even more that those who follow his trail of atrocities.
The United Nations, an organisation that Trump has utter contempt for, recognises football and its influence.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the first international football tournament in history on May 25, 1924, during the summer Olympic games held in Paris the general assembly passed a resolution recognising May 25 as World Football Day last year.
Football’s reach
It acknowledged “the global reach of football and its impact in various spheres, including commerce, peace and diplomacy, and recognising that football creates a space for cooperation.”
It also recognised “the fundamental role” of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and the important role of regional and national soccer federations, as well as relevant associations, in promoting the game of football.
The resolution encourages all countries to support football and other sports as a tool to promote peace, development and the empowerment of women and girls. And it also encourages countries to adopt policies and programs to promote football and other sports and physical activities.
According to a report by respected data gatherer Statista, FIFA said some five billion people (well over half the world’s population of 8.23 billion) engaged with the sport in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and 1.5 billion viewers watched it. The current World Cup in North America will exceed those figures.
The chart shows the share of fans in different countries, impressively high figures in many of them, but coming to a low of 25 per cent in the US, which adopted football late. If the US takes the World Cup or does well, Trump will try to take some credit for it.
He is hoping it will add some support for the November polls for the US House of Representatives where current indications are that the Republicans will lose their majority there, raising chances of an impeachment or at the least hindrances to his misguided policies and actions.
Trump Card
He played his Trump card to get rid of that red card and improve the chances of the US team doing better, using the influence he had with the FIFA president.
The New York Times reported: “President Trump called Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, in the hours after the United States men’s soccer team played Wednesday and asked him to review the suspension of the team’s top goal scorer in the World Cup, Folarin Balogun, after he was given a red card, according to four people familiar with the conversation.
“On Sunday, FIFA reversed the suspension, announcing that Balogun would be eligible to play Monday against Belgium.
“The reversal is highly unusual and is the first time since 1962 that FIFA has allowed a player to appear in a game when they would have been suspended after being sent off in the World Cup.”
The newspaper went on to say that Infantino had spent years trying to curry favour with Trump. Last year, FIFA created and gave Trump the FIFA Peace Prize amid the president’s public, but failed, campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Infantino’s infamy
In the report about Infantino currying favour the newspaper said that FIFA hired an office in the Trump Tower, an office which was largely left empty. “He has lavished the president with praise, trophies and a medal. He has made pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago, the Trump National Doral golf club and even the “Melania” documentary premiere.”
Infantino had publicly lobbied Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and had FIFA establish its own the “FIFA Peace Prize — Football Unites the World” for Trump. It was so hastily arranged that it surprised several of the body’s most senior officials, including board members and vice presidents, the newspaper said.
Such blatant use of patronage and influence to reverse the decision of a referee at the World Cup is bound to receive considerable attention across the world. Belgium, who will play the US next, has protested vigourously already.
That will tarnish Trump’s image further globally and erode support for him in the US as the news and comments are distributed widely.
Will football be the final nail in the coffin of public opinion over Trump? Who knows – but they say the ball is round, an euphemism that means anything can happen. One can hope that it’s a deciding goal against Trump.
P Gunasegaram is amazed at the low levels that Trump can stoop to.
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