The 2026 World Cup was already mired in controversy from the start, with the United States as the main host and a media and business blitz like none ever seen before. But Donald Trump’s decision to have FIFA lift the ban on U.S. striker Folarin Balogun just before the round of 16 match against Belgium only further heightened concerns about the reach of imperialist power in football. If Trump has decided the fate of entire countries, why not also interfere in the biggest sports business on the planet? The humiliating loss by the U.S. Men’s National Team, even with Balogun on the field for most of the game, was a moral victory and yet another embarrassing defeat for Trump.
Trump and Infantino: A “Bromance” in the Service of Business
The Balogun scandal cannot be understood without examining the comically sycophantic relationship between Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Trump invited Infantino to the presidential inauguration ceremony, showed him around the White House, and even allowed him to leave a replica of the World Cup trophy in the Oval Office, as if it were just another political prize. Infantino, in gratitude, created the unusual “FIFA Peace Prize” to honor Trump, and they are even preparing the trophy presentation together at the final on July 19 in New Jersey. A disgusting show of power and self-promotion, where the game itself is completely relegated to the background.
Trump took this transactional relationship to another level, however, when he called Infantino to demand that Balogun’s red card suspension be lifted. Balogun, a key striker for the United States, had been sent off for a hard foul on Bosnian Muharemovic and, according to the rules, was due for an automatic one-match suspension. That would have ruled him out of the match against Belgium. However, Trump — always mindful of his political and sporting interests — personally called Infantino to ask him to review the suspension.
In record time, FIFA overturned the punishment, invoking a disciplinary article rarely used in such situations and offering no further explanation. Any semblance of impartiality was completely shattered: Balogun played, the United States benefited, and suspicions of favoritism spread worldwide. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot summed it up succinctly: “If that phone call was indeed behind the decision, it represents a disregard for the most basic rules of football and sport.”
Trump, on the other hand, brazenly celebrated the decision: “Thank you to FIFA for reversing a great injustice!” he posted on social media. The political maneuver was so obvious that even the U.S. ambassador in Brussels tried to distance the president from the scandal. But nobody believed him.
For many, the outrage over Trump’s intervention in FIFA adds to a long history of U.S. meddling, including interventions in Latin America to prop up friendly governments and ensure favorable conditions for the plundering of strategic resources. Trump recently took this policy to a new level with his threats against Cuba, his political interference in the Argentina elections in favor of Javier Milei, and several deals designed to give U.S. capital greater access to lithium and rare earth elements across the continent. Why should he respect the autonomy of football if he hasn’t respected the autonomy of the people? Especially when the World Cup represents a multi-billion dollar business in which big capital divides profits at the expense of the work and passion of millions.
The World Cup As a Stage Set For imperialism
It is no coincidence that this World Cup is functioning as a gigantic image-washing operation for the U.S. government and for the economic interests that benefit from the spectacle.
While Trump attacks and plunders half the world, FIFA throws him a global party to pose as a leader in sport and peace. This imperialist, racist, and capitalist policy wears its home jersey. But this time, the move was so blatant that not even the establishment media could cover it up. Although everyone knows it, when it comes to big business, the law bends to whoever is in charge.
What this episode reveals goes far beyond an arbitrary sanction. The most obvious takeaway is that not even football remains untouched by political and economic interests. Trump, accustomed to acting as a powerful figure in Latin America, projects that same logic onto FIFA and the World Cup. If for decades the United States sought to decide the fate of entire countries, why should it resign itself to not also influencing the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet?
But this scandal, coming as it does after the recent defeat of the United States in its war with Iran, reveals something even more profound. The United States can no longer unilaterally impose its will as it did in previous decades. Trump found in the World Cup an unparalleled stage to showcase himself as the president who personally intervenes to defend American interests, but for naught. Just like in Iran, the United States was humiliated by its opponent. With the entire world rooting for Belgium, the U.S. team was crushed four to one, and Balogun left the pitch without scoring a single goal.
Unfortunately the scandal also shows clearly that football has been hijacked by the powerful and their businesses for a long time, and nothing will change as long as the sport remains in the hands of capitalist elites and their political allies. The only way out, as always, is through organization and struggle by those of us who live by our labor, to reclaim not only the ball but also the right to decide our future, without thugs or managers disguised as champions of “peace.”
Originally published in Spanish in La Izquierda Diario on July 6.
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