July 6, 2026
International Outrage After Trump Calls To Lift Ban On US Soccer Star… Who Is A Birthright Citizen!
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RSS Feed The biggest controversy so far in the World Cup has President Trump’s name all over it and the irony isn’t lost on anyone. After Trump put a call into the FIFA president to review a red card given to US star Folarin Balogun, FIFA reversed the decision allowing Balogun to play tonight against Belgium. It’s a move FIFA has not made since 1962 and it’s a for a player who is only considered an American, because of the very right President Trump has been trying to take away: birthright citizenship. Belgium officials have officially appealed FIFA’s reversal, but with just hours to go until the match, it seems likely Balogun will, in fact, be on the field tonight for the United States.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it is Monday, July sixth, and we have a major international controversy of brewing, and it is all about the World Cup. And yes, President Trump is smack dab in the middle of it. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes. This is something that benefits the United States on the field, it hurts us, probably with our reputation around the world. I cannot believe this story is happening all over a soccer.
00:00:34
Speaker 2: Player, right, And the concern is, look, I'm already thinking, yes, of course we want to win. And if we go and move on past the round of sixteen, is anyone even going to give us credit for it? Now that we have a player on the field, one of our star players, who was supposed to be off the field because he got a red card. We'll explain all of that for people who don't quite understand what that means. I've had to catch up actually while watching the World Cup. But will our win, if we win, even be considered legitimate.
00:01:08
Speaker 1: There are so many layers to this. This is an unbelievable story, Robes. That goes to the integrity of the most beloved tournament of the most beloved sport in the world. We are actually talking about possible fairness and political intervention, folks. What we're talking about Flow is the name Flow Baligan. If you haven't seen him play yet, he is a striker.
00:01:35
Speaker 2: He is a.
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Powerful, explosive arguably most important player for the US. Let's see if you haven't been watching, that's not out of context. So he's playing against Bosnia last week. He gets a red cart, which means he's supposed to Robes automatically be suspended for the next game, which is tonight against Belgium. He's supposed to not play, but Robes a phone call. This is the story. Now FIFA has changed course and is going to allow him to play. So they lifted the suspension. But Robes, you brought this story to my attention initially about the suspension, about it being lifted, and I say, yeah, that's a big deal. That's great for US. People are going to wonder why, and then we get word about what was happening behind the scenes, and the why is why now, Robes, this is an international controversy with fire behind it.
00:02:28
Speaker 2: Correct Because if FIFA had just gone on and reviewed the call, which was controversial at the time, we watched it happen, and frankly, yes, we know that flow Balligan did end up injuring another player, and pretty significantly it looked awful. But you could also tell it was an absolute accident. It was not an intentional act. So a lot of folks thought that it should be a yellow card versus a red card, meaning he would have to get a second yellow card for him to actually get that red card, get kicked out of the game and be suspended for the next game. He was removed from the game in the moment, but a lot of folks on the American side were upset about it.
00:03:06
Speaker 3: So, yes, if FIFA had just.
00:03:08
Speaker 2: Done a rare exceptional review of the case and it overturned it, it would have been controversial, but it probably would have been just, you know, mild controversy, maybe a medium controversy. But the fact that we now understand that that decision came after a personal phone call from President Trump to the FIFA president. Now you've got worldwide boiling outrange.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: And why not robes, why not it's on American soil? And here you go, Americans again, Here you guys go again, cheating us in some way, not being fair to the world thinking the rules don't apply to you. Look at you Americans doing it again. The reason, Robes, you just made the point. If we had never heard about president, he had never made a phone call, we would have taken it. The world would have taken it differently because because a lot of people, Robes kind of a consensus looking at the play, thought it was a little harsh.
00:04:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, they thought that it didn't deserve the punishment. The punishment didn't fit the crime.
00:04:09
Speaker 1: Okay, and that's fine, but it's still up to the referees discretion. By the way, it was reviewed with var at the time, so it's not like this one guy just went out there on a whim, made a quick call. They reviewed it, slowed it down, so it was reviewed. Robes. I disagreed with the call. Americans disagree with.
00:04:28
Speaker 2: The The commentators did for the most part too. Pretty much everyone thought it was an unfair call.
00:04:33
Speaker 1: Okay, and that's fine, But you know what, Robes, there are rules, and we don't like a lot of decisions that referees make, but that's just the rules. So here we go. Now, well with the play, you know, Robe, if you're talking about the yellow car versus the red card. You see these things flashing around all the time. Yes, yellow is a warning, but red robes is reserved for some pretty egregious stuff and it has to come with intent oftentimes correct well. Red card.
00:04:58
Speaker 2: And so if you and also as I meant, if you get a yellow card, which is considered a warning, if you get a second yellow card, that is the same as a red card, which is an immediate ejection. And so a red card is reserved for serious infractions, really bad behavior, reckless action that could lead to an injury.
00:05:16
Speaker 3: And it appeared that was what.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: Flows move or his accidental stepping onto this other player's ankle was basically a reckless action that could lead to injury, and.
00:05:29
Speaker 1: So they could a referee wants to make that argument, I would gough, I don't like that, but i'mould go, okay, you get both sides of it. So we're not here arguing you and I arguing the call. That is not it at all. We're not using our expertise, right.
00:05:44
Speaker 2: Because I do think though that is like for someone I would say, like me an untrained eye, I'm not Yes, I've watched soccer plenty, but I don't understand like offsides always throws me off. But the point being is, I'm watching it, and I think you could look at it as an American, as someone like me with limited sports or soccer experience, and you could say, well, that's just righting or wrong. So I'm not that upset about it, because he shouldn't have gotten a red card in the first place. This is about setting things right. So what's so bad about that?
00:06:14
Speaker 1: What's so bad about that is that it is just not done, and it's certainly not done at the World Cup, and it's certainly not done after president of that country calls the president of FIFA and says, can you review it? This is awful. This is an awful, look Robes. It's to the point I can't even feel good about him playing. I want him to play. When they first overturned it, I was like, hell, yeah, I heard about the Trump part, Like, oh no, oh no, this looks awful. Robes. Now, what if he goes and scores tonight.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: Well, that's exactly what's going to happen.
00:06:46
Speaker 1: We scores the winner.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: I feel like that's inevitable.
00:06:49
Speaker 1: Now, Robes, this is just awful. So FIFA put out saying let's go through what exactly happened here and how FIFA explains it. Robe FIFA explains so what they have done now, They didn't just completely lift the suspension. They went around it by saying they're what delaying.
00:07:06
Speaker 2: It implementation a probationary period for a year. Here's the actual statement. The implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Flarin Bellagan is suspended for a probationary period of one year. The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend.
00:07:28
Speaker 3: The implementation of a disciplinary measure.
00:07:30
Speaker 2: That is Article twenty seven of the Disciplinary Code that FIFA used to make this decision. So it was a committee that made the decision.
00:07:39
Speaker 1: They say it was a committee. However, this time around has been pointed out robes like they often do, oh excuse me, always do, they put out a report about the decision and they give you the vote. Those two things have not been presented. This all just looks awful and we're sitting here as Americans who want us to win this game tonight, and this is not the way to go about it. So the White House ms I didn't realize this. Political has a whole article with some background reporting and multiple sourced that said the game last week was on Wednesday. By Wednesday night, the White House jumped into action and put a plan in place to start appealing and immediately get this dude back on the field.
00:08:22
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:08:23
Speaker 2: And then by Thursday, President Trump reportedly called the FIFA president at that point, and then we're even getting word that the White House started doing background on the referee who made the call.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: Was that not like Trump?
00:08:36
Speaker 1: Sounds like politics, like your opponent. Let me let me get some background, let me use against opposition and research. Yes. So who do you think is pissed right now? Well, a few people will do them in order here in this order. So you got the official Belgian federation, their football federation. They have a statement they're upset. Then we had a more honest assessment by the Belgian coach, and then UEFA, it's the European League. We're going to redo that whole thing. They went off and they make very good points. But let's start with the Belgian officials. They kind of played nice with how they put out their states.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: Yes, the RBFA is stunned by the FIFA decision to declare the American player Flarin Balligan, who was suspended eligible to play in the USA Belgium match on Monday, July sixth to five pm Seattle Time. They talk about how FIFA based its decision on Article twenty seven in order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both during this FIFA World Cup and in future editions of the tournament. The RBFA is examining all potential options and they actually have been allowed to put.
00:09:54
Speaker 3: In a formal appeal. Correct.
00:09:55
Speaker 2: There's several sources now saying this morning that Belgium has been allowed to formally appeal the FIFA reversal, and.
00:10:05
Speaker 1: That's something the reversal. The US wasn't even allowed to appeal the red card. There's no mechanism in place to do that because you can't. It's just automatic. It's what happens. What was the ropes? The folks are thinking, well, I wonder how often this happens. It doesn't happened. It happened in nineteen sixty two, the last time that they issued a red card and then lifted the next game suspension. So why now rose This was just the most egregious wrong thing. And by the way, the play. It was pretty brutal. It wasn't intentional, but those cleats are not little kid cleats. Those things hurt. And so Baligan's foot ran down the back of this guy's leg and then landed with him full weight on that guy's foot. It was a bad play. It looked awful, but obviously it wasn't intentional. Roes right, we know that right Again, we're not here arguing the fairness of the call at all. It's the fairness of how it was dealt with. Well, I say, Robes never the.
00:11:09
Speaker 3: Crime, it's the cover up, right.
00:11:11
Speaker 2: So the Belgian coach script, I did think this was cheeky and perhaps appropriate, said this, I didn't know that at the World Cup the fifth of July is actually the first of April.
00:11:23
Speaker 3: It's April Fool's day. That's not bad, not bad at all.
00:11:26
Speaker 1: That's not bad. And he had a little he was cheat. He didn't look offensive at all and angry and how he said it. So the delivery was important there. But robes UEFA was I say for United European Federation or Football Association. But they're the ones who are It's like our MLS almost here in the US, but they regulate soccer in Europe. Robes. I thought this was strongly worded and every word was probably appropriate.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, they said, yesterday's decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year, the implementation of the one match automatic suspension following the red card issue to player Felaren Balligan crossed a red line.
00:12:08
Speaker 3: Yep, they said.
00:12:09
Speaker 2: Football, like any other sports, relies on rules which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition.
00:12:16
Speaker 3: Sometimes rules are open to interpretation.
00:12:19
Speaker 2: In this case not a minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations which cannot be made subject to exceptions. Let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension woo, When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decisions create a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment to the detriment of the competition.
00:13:10
Speaker 1: We got one more sentence to get but Robes, right there, that's it. How dare you give any other player a red card and expect him to be suspended? Robes these countries, Yes, it's the US. We're excited. Football is life. In other places, they're waiting four years for this and they're shot in Belgium's an older team. These guys notice their last shot and you're gonna do this to us? Robes, These are fighting.
00:13:44
Speaker 3: What is going to happen tonight? If the US wins? It all goes if we lose. But if we win, this isn't gonna feel like it should.
00:13:55
Speaker 1: There's the potential now for an explosive clash in the stand on the field, Robes, this means everything to places other than the US. Every four years you get a shot at this and you just did this the roll so that sentence, Robes is everything. What are you supposed to do now? By the way, England beat Mexico last night. England's one of their starters got a red card. They're already talking about appealing because of this.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: Yes, and you know what, and to look we lost flow halfway through. Actually there was like thirty forty minutes left in the second.
00:14:35
Speaker 3: Half and we still won.
00:14:37
Speaker 2: We still beat Bosnia and that felt good, right, we did it despite losing one of our best players. I mean, part of me also thought, look, I understand the outrage. I'm understanding as I hear it very much spelled out by folks who understand the sport.
00:14:54
Speaker 3: Far more than I do.
00:14:57
Speaker 2: But I also was thinking, part of Belgium, maybe they would just be like, hey, we want our best players, we want your best players.
00:15:02
Speaker 3: Let the best team win.
00:15:04
Speaker 1: Uh uh No, you have that attitude, but there are also rules. It happens. We talk about this sometimes in the NCAA tournament or super Bowl or playoffs, when there's a major injury to a star. The other team is not going on the old shucks, we really wish your best guy was out there. No, you play with the guys you put out there, and the rules allow for this guy to play, that guy to play, and they don't allow for him to play. So robes, you just Belgium rightly feels like they have been cheated. They rightly feel that Robes they if they lose this game. You talk about appeals you're talking about you're gonna hear from the everybody.
00:15:46
Speaker 3: What it flow? Is the only one to score the goals too, Like I'm just thinking about worst case scenarios.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: Okay, here's and because yes, and to your point about this sport. They end their statement with this, football is the most love sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and at the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable decision.
00:16:28
Speaker 1: Ropes. This was so well written, good job, But it makes the point, Ropes. It sets the standard for other tournaments. This is the World Cup and this happened. Robes. I want him to play. I want us to win. I do not want us to win this way.
00:16:46
Speaker 3: Yeah I don't either.
00:16:47
Speaker 1: It just doesn't feel good. But as wild as this story is, Robes, we haven't even gotten to what is my favorite part of this story. How is it possible that birth right citizenship is sitting in the middle of this debate. Folks, stay here. This is a beautiful, ironic doozy for President Trump.
00:17:19
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. We're talking about this explosive controversy that is brewing and is going to be center stage tonight as the US takes on Belgium tonight. And yes, one of our star players is going to be on the field when we all thought he was not going to be after he got a red card.
00:17:43
Speaker 3: Yes, a flow.
00:17:44
Speaker 2: He's a star striker and likely to score tonight. But he's on the field because of a call that President Trump made. And he's on the field playing for the United States of America because his mom just came here for a visit from London.
00:18:02
Speaker 1: How is this possible? Just the chances of this, I don't know.
00:18:08
Speaker 3: Sometimes the universe has a funny way of speaking.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Okay, this is the one. I'll listen to you on RUBE. I know you tell me, You've been telling me for years. Right, there's a lighted runway. You gotta follow the universe of speaking to you.
00:18:19
Speaker 2: Discuss signs when you see them telling you where you need to go. It's taking you in the direction you need to go. And even if you don't understand it in the moment, Trump might not see it right now, but it is staring him in the face about birthright citizenship.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: This is one of those things. This is what makes you think God has a sense of humor. Yes, So when was the Supreme Court decision? By the way, berth a week? A week, okay, last week? You all know good and hell well about President Trump's feelings on birthright citizenship. He's been talking about it for a long time, says, is this egregious thing that the United States does? It hurts us all kinds.
00:18:53
Speaker 2: Of Well, we got criminals in this country because of it, We got just the degenerates of society in this country. Because of this, we've got rapists and murdering all sorts of just low lifes.
00:19:04
Speaker 1: And so was the executive order? Was this one of his first day back in It was okay, first day back in office, son as an executive order getting rid of birthright citizenship. You know how it feels. Last week's Supreme Court found that made a decision on it. They upheld birthright citizenship, giving the president a loss. However, Robes the president seems to be a big, big fan of birthright citizenship because yes, Flow Balligan, Balligan is a US citizen because of birthright citizenship.
00:19:32
Speaker 3: Robes, He's a birthright citizen.
00:19:35
Speaker 1: And to think that the President just went to bat and fought and personally picked up the phone and called to make sure Balligan could do what Robes represent the United States of America tonight. And he did it for a guy who is only eligible to do so because of our fourteenth Amendment and birthright. In the show, yes, this kid was born in Brooklyn, Robes, but he wasn't supposed to be.
00:20:07
Speaker 2: Yes, he was born in Brooklyn, but it is because his parents were visiting from London. Mom was very, very pregnant, and this is a true story. The airline she was so pregnant the airline would not allow her to get on a plane to fly back home to the United Kingdom. So she ended up giving birth to him in New York. Because of that one moment, and because of that, he was granted citizenship in the United States, in the United Kingdom, and his father is Nigerian, so he also is Nigerian. He could have played for the US, for Nigeria, or for the Brits.
00:20:45
Speaker 1: He chose us.
00:20:47
Speaker 2: He chose us, and we chose him. And I just wonder, I mean, Trump is going to be asked about this.
00:20:56
Speaker 1: He obviously he had to have known about it. There's no way he didn't know about this ahead of time, and he still chose to do it. I can is there any chance somebody didn't give him a heads up?
00:21:07
Speaker 2: There is a chance that that wasn't even on anyone's mind in the moment, In the heat of the moment, people were outraged that he got that red card. In that moment, we were there, and people are saying.
00:21:19
Speaker 3: That should not have been a break.
00:21:20
Speaker 2: So in that moment, you're reacting, You're fighting for your folks, you're fighting for your team.
00:21:24
Speaker 3: You make the call.
00:21:25
Speaker 2: Yet I think it's very possible he was not alerted to the fact that Baligan in fact was a birthright citizen and how the optics of that might appear, or at least the irony and the fact that he would have to answer his feelings about Baligan representing the United States.
00:21:44
Speaker 1: All those people he talked about, we are seeing the value of birthright citizenship and how it benefits us as a country, robes it could benefit us by helping us win a World Cup. It could benefit us in that way. Think of all the other ways it benefits us, with kids in college, with some engineer getting some job, with somebody deciding to I don't know, run for office at some point. There's a contribution we are seeing so clearly being made by somebody because of birthright citizenship. This is you cannot make this up heavy. This is a wonderful story. So in that regard, I hope, I hope he wins everything. I hope he scores three goals to ninth takes him on to victory. It has to be on that stage when President Trump is holding that trophy and presents it to this dark skinned black man with a non US sounding name who is only here and gave us victory because of something the President said is bad and negative about this country. Come on, man, that is poetry.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: Can't get more American than that.
00:22:50
Speaker 1: That's poetry.
00:22:50
Speaker 3: I love it. All right, Well, we will be watching.
00:22:53
Speaker 2: We hope you will be too, to cheer on all the men there on the field.
00:22:58
Speaker 1: You know what, one other thing, What is there any chance it'll change? Because there is a chance.
00:23:06
Speaker 2: Look, I mean as rare as the reversal was nineteen sixty two.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: Are they going to reverse the reversal? Look, it's possible. I would say highly unlikely, but who knows. Stranger things have happened.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: We will keep our eye on the situation leading up to game time again, which is at eight pm Eastern time five pm Seattle time. In the meantime, we always appreciate you listening to us. I made me Robock alongside TJ.
00:23:30
Speaker 3: Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey, folks, it is Monday, July sixth, and we have a major international controversy of brewing, and it is all about the World Cup. And yes, President Trump is smack dab in the middle of it. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Robes. This is something that benefits the United States on the field, it hurts us, probably with our reputation around the world. I cannot believe this story is happening all over a soccer.
00:00:34
Speaker 2: Player, right, And the concern is, look, I'm already thinking, yes, of course we want to win. And if we go and move on past the round of sixteen, is anyone even going to give us credit for it? Now that we have a player on the field, one of our star players, who was supposed to be off the field because he got a red card. We'll explain all of that for people who don't quite understand what that means. I've had to catch up actually while watching the World Cup. But will our win, if we win, even be considered legitimate.
00:01:08
Speaker 1: There are so many layers to this. This is an unbelievable story, Robes. That goes to the integrity of the most beloved tournament of the most beloved sport in the world. We are actually talking about possible fairness and political intervention, folks. What we're talking about Flow is the name Flow Baligan. If you haven't seen him play yet, he is a striker.
00:01:35
Speaker 2: He is a.
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Powerful, explosive arguably most important player for the US. Let's see if you haven't been watching, that's not out of context. So he's playing against Bosnia last week. He gets a red cart, which means he's supposed to Robes automatically be suspended for the next game, which is tonight against Belgium. He's supposed to not play, but Robes a phone call. This is the story. Now FIFA has changed course and is going to allow him to play. So they lifted the suspension. But Robes, you brought this story to my attention initially about the suspension, about it being lifted, and I say, yeah, that's a big deal. That's great for US. People are going to wonder why, and then we get word about what was happening behind the scenes, and the why is why now, Robes, this is an international controversy with fire behind it.
00:02:28
Speaker 2: Correct Because if FIFA had just gone on and reviewed the call, which was controversial at the time, we watched it happen, and frankly, yes, we know that flow Balligan did end up injuring another player, and pretty significantly it looked awful. But you could also tell it was an absolute accident. It was not an intentional act. So a lot of folks thought that it should be a yellow card versus a red card, meaning he would have to get a second yellow card for him to actually get that red card, get kicked out of the game and be suspended for the next game. He was removed from the game in the moment, but a lot of folks on the American side were upset about it.
00:03:06
Speaker 3: So, yes, if FIFA had just.
00:03:08
Speaker 2: Done a rare exceptional review of the case and it overturned it, it would have been controversial, but it probably would have been just, you know, mild controversy, maybe a medium controversy. But the fact that we now understand that that decision came after a personal phone call from President Trump to the FIFA president. Now you've got worldwide boiling outrange.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: And why not robes, why not it's on American soil? And here you go, Americans again, Here you guys go again, cheating us in some way, not being fair to the world thinking the rules don't apply to you. Look at you Americans doing it again. The reason, Robes, you just made the point. If we had never heard about president, he had never made a phone call, we would have taken it. The world would have taken it differently because because a lot of people, Robes kind of a consensus looking at the play, thought it was a little harsh.
00:04:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, they thought that it didn't deserve the punishment. The punishment didn't fit the crime.
00:04:09
Speaker 1: Okay, and that's fine, but it's still up to the referees discretion. By the way, it was reviewed with var at the time, so it's not like this one guy just went out there on a whim, made a quick call. They reviewed it, slowed it down, so it was reviewed. Robes. I disagreed with the call. Americans disagree with.
00:04:28
Speaker 2: The The commentators did for the most part too. Pretty much everyone thought it was an unfair call.
00:04:33
Speaker 1: Okay, and that's fine, But you know what, Robes, there are rules, and we don't like a lot of decisions that referees make, but that's just the rules. So here we go. Now, well with the play, you know, Robe, if you're talking about the yellow car versus the red card. You see these things flashing around all the time. Yes, yellow is a warning, but red robes is reserved for some pretty egregious stuff and it has to come with intent oftentimes correct well. Red card.
00:04:58
Speaker 2: And so if you and also as I meant, if you get a yellow card, which is considered a warning, if you get a second yellow card, that is the same as a red card, which is an immediate ejection. And so a red card is reserved for serious infractions, really bad behavior, reckless action that could lead to an injury.
00:05:16
Speaker 3: And it appeared that was what.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: Flows move or his accidental stepping onto this other player's ankle was basically a reckless action that could lead to injury, and.
00:05:29
Speaker 1: So they could a referee wants to make that argument, I would gough, I don't like that, but i'mould go, okay, you get both sides of it. So we're not here arguing you and I arguing the call. That is not it at all. We're not using our expertise, right.
00:05:44
Speaker 2: Because I do think though that is like for someone I would say, like me an untrained eye, I'm not Yes, I've watched soccer plenty, but I don't understand like offsides always throws me off. But the point being is, I'm watching it, and I think you could look at it as an American, as someone like me with limited sports or soccer experience, and you could say, well, that's just righting or wrong. So I'm not that upset about it, because he shouldn't have gotten a red card in the first place. This is about setting things right. So what's so bad about that?
00:06:14
Speaker 1: What's so bad about that is that it is just not done, and it's certainly not done at the World Cup, and it's certainly not done after president of that country calls the president of FIFA and says, can you review it? This is awful. This is an awful, look Robes. It's to the point I can't even feel good about him playing. I want him to play. When they first overturned it, I was like, hell, yeah, I heard about the Trump part, Like, oh no, oh no, this looks awful. Robes. Now, what if he goes and scores tonight.
00:06:44
Speaker 3: Well, that's exactly what's going to happen.
00:06:46
Speaker 1: We scores the winner.
00:06:48
Speaker 3: I feel like that's inevitable.
00:06:49
Speaker 1: Now, Robes, this is just awful. So FIFA put out saying let's go through what exactly happened here and how FIFA explains it. Robe FIFA explains so what they have done now, They didn't just completely lift the suspension. They went around it by saying they're what delaying.
00:07:06
Speaker 2: It implementation a probationary period for a year. Here's the actual statement. The implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Flarin Bellagan is suspended for a probationary period of one year. The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend.
00:07:28
Speaker 3: The implementation of a disciplinary measure.
00:07:30
Speaker 2: That is Article twenty seven of the Disciplinary Code that FIFA used to make this decision. So it was a committee that made the decision.
00:07:39
Speaker 1: They say it was a committee. However, this time around has been pointed out robes like they often do, oh excuse me, always do, they put out a report about the decision and they give you the vote. Those two things have not been presented. This all just looks awful and we're sitting here as Americans who want us to win this game tonight, and this is not the way to go about it. So the White House ms I didn't realize this. Political has a whole article with some background reporting and multiple sourced that said the game last week was on Wednesday. By Wednesday night, the White House jumped into action and put a plan in place to start appealing and immediately get this dude back on the field.
00:08:22
Speaker 3: Wow.
00:08:23
Speaker 2: And then by Thursday, President Trump reportedly called the FIFA president at that point, and then we're even getting word that the White House started doing background on the referee who made the call.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: Was that not like Trump?
00:08:36
Speaker 1: Sounds like politics, like your opponent. Let me let me get some background, let me use against opposition and research. Yes. So who do you think is pissed right now? Well, a few people will do them in order here in this order. So you got the official Belgian federation, their football federation. They have a statement they're upset. Then we had a more honest assessment by the Belgian coach, and then UEFA, it's the European League. We're going to redo that whole thing. They went off and they make very good points. But let's start with the Belgian officials. They kind of played nice with how they put out their states.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: Yes, the RBFA is stunned by the FIFA decision to declare the American player Flarin Balligan, who was suspended eligible to play in the USA Belgium match on Monday, July sixth to five pm Seattle Time. They talk about how FIFA based its decision on Article twenty seven in order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both during this FIFA World Cup and in future editions of the tournament. The RBFA is examining all potential options and they actually have been allowed to put.
00:09:54
Speaker 3: In a formal appeal. Correct.
00:09:55
Speaker 2: There's several sources now saying this morning that Belgium has been allowed to formally appeal the FIFA reversal, and.
00:10:05
Speaker 1: That's something the reversal. The US wasn't even allowed to appeal the red card. There's no mechanism in place to do that because you can't. It's just automatic. It's what happens. What was the ropes? The folks are thinking, well, I wonder how often this happens. It doesn't happened. It happened in nineteen sixty two, the last time that they issued a red card and then lifted the next game suspension. So why now rose This was just the most egregious wrong thing. And by the way, the play. It was pretty brutal. It wasn't intentional, but those cleats are not little kid cleats. Those things hurt. And so Baligan's foot ran down the back of this guy's leg and then landed with him full weight on that guy's foot. It was a bad play. It looked awful, but obviously it wasn't intentional. Roes right, we know that right Again, we're not here arguing the fairness of the call at all. It's the fairness of how it was dealt with. Well, I say, Robes never the.
00:11:09
Speaker 3: Crime, it's the cover up, right.
00:11:11
Speaker 2: So the Belgian coach script, I did think this was cheeky and perhaps appropriate, said this, I didn't know that at the World Cup the fifth of July is actually the first of April.
00:11:23
Speaker 3: It's April Fool's day. That's not bad, not bad at all.
00:11:26
Speaker 1: That's not bad. And he had a little he was cheat. He didn't look offensive at all and angry and how he said it. So the delivery was important there. But robes UEFA was I say for United European Federation or Football Association. But they're the ones who are It's like our MLS almost here in the US, but they regulate soccer in Europe. Robes. I thought this was strongly worded and every word was probably appropriate.
00:11:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, they said, yesterday's decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year, the implementation of the one match automatic suspension following the red card issue to player Felaren Balligan crossed a red line.
00:12:08
Speaker 3: Yep, they said.
00:12:09
Speaker 2: Football, like any other sports, relies on rules which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition.
00:12:16
Speaker 3: Sometimes rules are open to interpretation.
00:12:19
Speaker 2: In this case not a minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations which cannot be made subject to exceptions. Let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension woo, When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decisions create a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment to the detriment of the competition.
00:13:10
Speaker 1: We got one more sentence to get but Robes, right there, that's it. How dare you give any other player a red card and expect him to be suspended? Robes these countries, Yes, it's the US. We're excited. Football is life. In other places, they're waiting four years for this and they're shot in Belgium's an older team. These guys notice their last shot and you're gonna do this to us? Robes, These are fighting.
00:13:44
Speaker 3: What is going to happen tonight? If the US wins? It all goes if we lose. But if we win, this isn't gonna feel like it should.
00:13:55
Speaker 1: There's the potential now for an explosive clash in the stand on the field, Robes, this means everything to places other than the US. Every four years you get a shot at this and you just did this the roll so that sentence, Robes is everything. What are you supposed to do now? By the way, England beat Mexico last night. England's one of their starters got a red card. They're already talking about appealing because of this.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: Yes, and you know what, and to look we lost flow halfway through. Actually there was like thirty forty minutes left in the second.
00:14:35
Speaker 3: Half and we still won.
00:14:37
Speaker 2: We still beat Bosnia and that felt good, right, we did it despite losing one of our best players. I mean, part of me also thought, look, I understand the outrage. I'm understanding as I hear it very much spelled out by folks who understand the sport.
00:14:54
Speaker 3: Far more than I do.
00:14:57
Speaker 2: But I also was thinking, part of Belgium, maybe they would just be like, hey, we want our best players, we want your best players.
00:15:02
Speaker 3: Let the best team win.
00:15:04
Speaker 1: Uh uh No, you have that attitude, but there are also rules. It happens. We talk about this sometimes in the NCAA tournament or super Bowl or playoffs, when there's a major injury to a star. The other team is not going on the old shucks, we really wish your best guy was out there. No, you play with the guys you put out there, and the rules allow for this guy to play, that guy to play, and they don't allow for him to play. So robes, you just Belgium rightly feels like they have been cheated. They rightly feel that Robes they if they lose this game. You talk about appeals you're talking about you're gonna hear from the everybody.
00:15:46
Speaker 3: What it flow? Is the only one to score the goals too, Like I'm just thinking about worst case scenarios.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: Okay, here's and because yes, and to your point about this sport. They end their statement with this, football is the most love sport in the world because it is a beautiful game and is trusted because it is played everywhere with the same laws. A tournament is never a pure standalone and at the tournament in question is the World Cup, it has the power to drive positive or negative consequences on the game as a whole. We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable decision.
00:16:28
Speaker 1: Ropes. This was so well written, good job, But it makes the point, Ropes. It sets the standard for other tournaments. This is the World Cup and this happened. Robes. I want him to play. I want us to win. I do not want us to win this way.
00:16:46
Speaker 3: Yeah I don't either.
00:16:47
Speaker 1: It just doesn't feel good. But as wild as this story is, Robes, we haven't even gotten to what is my favorite part of this story. How is it possible that birth right citizenship is sitting in the middle of this debate. Folks, stay here. This is a beautiful, ironic doozy for President Trump.
00:17:19
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. We're talking about this explosive controversy that is brewing and is going to be center stage tonight as the US takes on Belgium tonight. And yes, one of our star players is going to be on the field when we all thought he was not going to be after he got a red card.
00:17:43
Speaker 3: Yes, a flow.
00:17:44
Speaker 2: He's a star striker and likely to score tonight. But he's on the field because of a call that President Trump made. And he's on the field playing for the United States of America because his mom just came here for a visit from London.
00:18:02
Speaker 1: How is this possible? Just the chances of this, I don't know.
00:18:08
Speaker 3: Sometimes the universe has a funny way of speaking.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Okay, this is the one. I'll listen to you on RUBE. I know you tell me, You've been telling me for years. Right, there's a lighted runway. You gotta follow the universe of speaking to you.
00:18:19
Speaker 2: Discuss signs when you see them telling you where you need to go. It's taking you in the direction you need to go. And even if you don't understand it in the moment, Trump might not see it right now, but it is staring him in the face about birthright citizenship.
00:18:32
Speaker 1: This is one of those things. This is what makes you think God has a sense of humor. Yes, So when was the Supreme Court decision? By the way, berth a week? A week, okay, last week? You all know good and hell well about President Trump's feelings on birthright citizenship. He's been talking about it for a long time, says, is this egregious thing that the United States does? It hurts us all kinds.
00:18:53
Speaker 2: Of Well, we got criminals in this country because of it, We got just the degenerates of society in this country. Because of this, we've got rapists and murdering all sorts of just low lifes.
00:19:04
Speaker 1: And so was the executive order? Was this one of his first day back in It was okay, first day back in office, son as an executive order getting rid of birthright citizenship. You know how it feels. Last week's Supreme Court found that made a decision on it. They upheld birthright citizenship, giving the president a loss. However, Robes the president seems to be a big, big fan of birthright citizenship because yes, Flow Balligan, Balligan is a US citizen because of birthright citizenship.
00:19:32
Speaker 3: Robes, He's a birthright citizen.
00:19:35
Speaker 1: And to think that the President just went to bat and fought and personally picked up the phone and called to make sure Balligan could do what Robes represent the United States of America tonight. And he did it for a guy who is only eligible to do so because of our fourteenth Amendment and birthright. In the show, yes, this kid was born in Brooklyn, Robes, but he wasn't supposed to be.
00:20:07
Speaker 2: Yes, he was born in Brooklyn, but it is because his parents were visiting from London. Mom was very, very pregnant, and this is a true story. The airline she was so pregnant the airline would not allow her to get on a plane to fly back home to the United Kingdom. So she ended up giving birth to him in New York. Because of that one moment, and because of that, he was granted citizenship in the United States, in the United Kingdom, and his father is Nigerian, so he also is Nigerian. He could have played for the US, for Nigeria, or for the Brits.
00:20:45
Speaker 1: He chose us.
00:20:47
Speaker 2: He chose us, and we chose him. And I just wonder, I mean, Trump is going to be asked about this.
00:20:56
Speaker 1: He obviously he had to have known about it. There's no way he didn't know about this ahead of time, and he still chose to do it. I can is there any chance somebody didn't give him a heads up?
00:21:07
Speaker 2: There is a chance that that wasn't even on anyone's mind in the moment, In the heat of the moment, people were outraged that he got that red card. In that moment, we were there, and people are saying.
00:21:19
Speaker 3: That should not have been a break.
00:21:20
Speaker 2: So in that moment, you're reacting, You're fighting for your folks, you're fighting for your team.
00:21:24
Speaker 3: You make the call.
00:21:25
Speaker 2: Yet I think it's very possible he was not alerted to the fact that Baligan in fact was a birthright citizen and how the optics of that might appear, or at least the irony and the fact that he would have to answer his feelings about Baligan representing the United States.
00:21:44
Speaker 1: All those people he talked about, we are seeing the value of birthright citizenship and how it benefits us as a country, robes it could benefit us by helping us win a World Cup. It could benefit us in that way. Think of all the other ways it benefits us, with kids in college, with some engineer getting some job, with somebody deciding to I don't know, run for office at some point. There's a contribution we are seeing so clearly being made by somebody because of birthright citizenship. This is you cannot make this up heavy. This is a wonderful story. So in that regard, I hope, I hope he wins everything. I hope he scores three goals to ninth takes him on to victory. It has to be on that stage when President Trump is holding that trophy and presents it to this dark skinned black man with a non US sounding name who is only here and gave us victory because of something the President said is bad and negative about this country. Come on, man, that is poetry.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: Can't get more American than that.
00:22:50
Speaker 1: That's poetry.
00:22:50
Speaker 3: I love it. All right, Well, we will be watching.
00:22:53
Speaker 2: We hope you will be too, to cheer on all the men there on the field.
00:22:58
Speaker 1: You know what, one other thing, What is there any chance it'll change? Because there is a chance.
00:23:06
Speaker 2: Look, I mean as rare as the reversal was nineteen sixty two.
00:23:11
Speaker 3: Are they going to reverse the reversal? Look, it's possible. I would say highly unlikely, but who knows. Stranger things have happened.
00:23:18
Speaker 2: We will keep our eye on the situation leading up to game time again, which is at eight pm Eastern time five pm Seattle time. In the meantime, we always appreciate you listening to us. I made me Robock alongside TJ.
00:23:30
Speaker 3: Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.