{"id":4863,"date":"2026-07-07T19:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=4863"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:41:17","slug":"trumps-fifa-call-opens-a-slippery-slope-says-sports-columnist-christine-brennan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=4863","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s FIFA call opens a ‘slippery slope,’ says sports columnist Christine Brennan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Charles<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n
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Soccer Edition <\/h3>\n

The U.S. men’s run at the World Cup ends with a 4-1 Round of 16 loss to Belgium<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The U.S. men’s national soccer team’s World Cup run ended Monday with a 4-1 loss to Belgium. After the game, attention returned to FIFA’s controversial decision to let U.S. striker Folarin Balogun play, even though he was handed a red card during the July 1 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina.<\/p>

Read more Reigning champion Argentina escapes with remarkable World Cup victory over Egypt<\/a><\/p>

FIFA delayed Balogun’s suspension by a year after President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to discuss the decision. During the phone call with Infantino, Trump wanted to understand the reasoning behind the decision to give a red card and a suspension, according to an official with knowledge of the call who was granted anonymity to discuss a private conversation. “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump wrote Sunday in a post on Truth Social.<\/p>\n

“I have never covered a story in which a head of state actually inserted him- or herself into the field of play,” sports columnist Christine Brennan told on Tuesday.<\/p>

Read more International Olympic Committee lifts Russia suspension ahead of 2028 LA Games<\/a><\/p>

Brennan said it is unclear how much the previous 36 hours affected the U.S. team. U.S. Captain Tim Ream said the team was not distracted. But the columnist said the team’s performance told a different story, describing the Americans as “ugly, sloppy, unfocused.”<\/p>

Brennan added that the episode could set a precedent for future international competitions, warning that it opens a “slippery slope” as the U.S. prepares to host the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.<\/p>

Read more New lawsuit alleges US shared asylum application details with Iran<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NPR’s A Mart\u00ednez speaks with USA Today<\/em> sports columnist Christine Brennan about the World Cup match between the U.S. and Belgium and the lifted suspension of a U.S. star forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[458,248],"class_list":["post-4863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-fifa","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump's FIFA call opens a 'slippery slope,' says sports columnist Christine Brennan - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=4863\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump's FIFA call opens a 'slippery slope,' says sports columnist Christine Brennan - 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