As regular readers know, what the U.S. calls soccer and most of the world football is my favorite sport and I have been watching the World Cup with interest and pleasure. Usually I watch a couple of matches each day, although last Wednesday I saw all three when England and Belgium came from behind and the U.S. held off Bosnia-Hertzegovina playing with only ten men. A great soccer day. Like most soccer fans throughout the world I have been impressed by tiny Cape Verde who played Spain even and barely lost to Argentina.
However. Indeed, however.
I was stunned to learn that the automatic one match suspension given to the U.S. striker, Folarin Balogun, has been reversed after telephone calls from the U.S. President to the President of FIFA. This is despicable.
The outrage and condemnation has been nearly universal among coaches, officials—other than FIFA—and fans around the world.
I had been looking forward to the U.S./Belgium match this evening. I will watch, but now with mixed feelings.
There is one man who can put this right. That is the manager of the USMNT, the Argentinian, Mauricio Pochettino, by not playing Balogun. I doubt he will, but it is the right thing to do.
3 comments:
Despicable is not too strong a word. Normalcy is no longer a thing. Now corruption is on full display with no attempt to hide it anymore. As it turns out none of it mattered in the end. Belgium were the much better team,
It seems everything “he” touches fails.
I am reminded of the rules for the Race to Alaska. Which are so complex they require a FAQ. Among the FAQ is this:
What if someone cheats?
First, just don’t do that. Let’s try to be better than the people who think a win is more important than integrity. This ain’t professional cycling.
struggle to thing positive
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