FIFA’s scandalous ruling favoring the United States was published 24 hours before the decisive round-of-16 match this Monday. It was a brief, cold statement with no further explanation. Folarin Balogun, the local star, will be able to play in Seattle against Belgium in the World Cup. This despite being suspended for a red card in the last match. The measure was discretionary. And without justification.
FIFA relied on a rule written by itself. Chiqui Tapia may say that his rule changes and desk titles are just a footnote compared to what the Swiss man running the global circus did.
While Scaloni’s team advances, the AFA president provokes from the United States, even as his legal troubles mount in Argentina. On the same day as the FIFA scandal, Tapia posted a photo on his social media taken after the victory against Cape Verde in Miami. With a beret, dark glasses, and the ball, he captioned the image «Chiqui Blinders,» alluding to the post-war series portraying a gang of gangsters rising to become the most powerful mafia in Birmingham, England.
Until now, the biggest World Cup in history had been silencing critics. Those who questioned the tournament of 48 teams, 104 matches, and three huge countries clashed with Infantino’s arguments. Full stadiums, exciting matches, top-level stars and scorers, and infrastructure never matched before.
It was revealed that Donald Trump called the FIFA boss on the same night as Balogun’s expulsion. That was enough to remind everyone what this business is made of.
The US president wrote a message of thanks to FIFA on his social network shortly after the sanction was reviewed. «Thank you to FIFA for doing the right thing and reversing a great injustice!» he exclaimed.
Perhaps Infantino, who awarded Trump the Peace Prize that the Nobel academy denied him and invited him to hand over the World Cup trophy to the champion on July 19 in New York, may have returned unconfessable favors to the president.
Tomorrow Balogun will be the starting number 9 for Argentine coach Pochettino’s team, which until now had carried out serious work to excite millions of Americans used to cheering for football, basketball, and baseball.
In a bar in Atlanta, where the first of the 45,000 fans who will be there on Tuesday to see the team against Egypt began to arrive, one fan told another: «Chiqui passed by and said it was a robbery.»
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Para mí, Infantino es un capo, Balogun es un fenómeno y Trump lo bancó como un campeón. Los zurditos llorando como siempre, me parece. Tapia es un gángster de cuarta, paseándose en Miami mientras la FIFA lo pasa por arriba. Viva USA y la derecha, carajo, esto huele a gloria.
Che pero para mí esto es una joda de mal gusto. Infantino le lame las botas a Trump y habilita a Balogun como si nada, un asco de FIFA yankee. Y Tapia paseando en Miami como capo mafia choreando a dos manos. Esto huele a circo de la derecha imperialista, ya ni disimulan la mugre.