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Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr
Every victory the Americans achieve from here on out will have an asterisk.
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Every victory at this tainted tournament, past and future, will have an asterisk.
Infantino is the most corrupt and rotten creature in soccerball right now, and perhaps ever (remember Sepp Blatter?). I hope he doesn't accidentally choke on all the bribe money. Oh, what a tragic loss that would be for the world.
Quote:
The Belgian soccer federation challenged FIFA’s ruling not to enforce a ban on Balogun. The European soccer body UEFA described the decision as an “incomprehensible” breach of soccer’s rule of law.
AP News
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragnar
Couldn't care less. Shouldn't have been a red card. Worse things have happened in World cups that had more dire consequences. A Maradona hand ball that was never called comes to mind.
Besides that, didn't FIFA use article 27 to allow Renaldo of Portugal to play in the first few games of this tournament? They suspended his suspension. Does Portugal get an asterisk?
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Apples and oranges. First, it was not a single exemption specifically for Cristiano Ronaldo, but a whole group of players from different nations. The reason was of course money. More people will watch when Cristiano plays than when he doesn't.
This has in various forms been around for 20 years now; f.e. ever since Michael Ballack was banned on yellow cards from the 2002 final, yellow card tallies were erased after the quarterfinals. Now they're even erasing them after the group stage. All to get the best pairs of legs on the field at any one time.
And that still doesn't explain Balogun, who's not even particularly great by *Ligue 1* standards.
And second, FIFA waived those suspensions without a call from Antonio José Seguro, president of Portugal.
From here on, the World Cup is irrepairably damaged. The only thing that might yet patch the crack (for another five minutes) would be a Belgium win.