July 6, 2026
UPDATE: Belgian Appeal Denied, Credibility Of The World Cup At Stake #Balogun-Gate
Apple Podcasts 
Spotify 
Castro 
RSS Feed The updates just keep on coming as we get down to the final hours before the United States faces off against Belgium in the round of 16. FIFA has officially denied Belgium’s appeal to its decision allowing U.S. star Folarin Balogun to play in tonight’s game, despite receiving a red card. In response, Belgium’s football federation put out a pointed critique of how FIFA has mishandled the process. We’ve also heard from the FIFA president, downplaying President Trump’s call to him asking for a review of the red card, and demanding respect for the committee’s decision to allow Balogun on the field tonight. Meantime, other countries are now asking for the same treatment for their players who have received both red and yellow cards during the tournament.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey that folks, it is Monday, July sixth. Can we just play this game already? The drama, the saga, the controversy continues, and it's getting worse. Welcome to this episode of ABY and TJ. Ballagan Gate. I saw someone put that, Doude. I didn't come up with that, but ballagan.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: Gate, Ballagan Gate, Well that's what it's turned into now.
00:00:24
Speaker 3: And look we.
00:00:26
Speaker 1: Owed the name, the title like I didn't have a good name for it. Got me though, ball Gate.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: No. I mean, anytime there's a controversy, you just put a gate. Watergate kind of opened the gate.
00:00:35
Speaker 1: For that, or gate, World Cup Gate, no, Trump Gate.
00:00:40
Speaker 2: What which one would you be picking from? I don't even know how that. That is way too broad of a category. That's like a folder. And inside that boulder there are like I don't know how many games involved with that. But no, I was been telling you I was. I had to run a few errands today. I was in ubers and in cabs and every single.
00:00:57
Speaker 3: Car I got into.
00:00:59
Speaker 2: The folks on the radio, we're talking about a new development with what's going on with this big match between the United States and Belgium. And yes, Balligan playing on the field despite getting a red card, and Trump's intervention in all of this, and FIFA's rolling all of this, and Belgian Belgium's appeal, and now other countries are saying, hold up, we want our players to not have to sit out a game with their red card. It's just ballooned into something. We started off just doing one episode on.
00:01:31
Speaker 3: This this morning.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: Is this now like our third episode on this because it keeps changing.
00:01:35
Speaker 1: The one the last one we did, we thought it was going to be the one update, I'm telling you. Within an hour, I said, damn, we need to update that because so much has happened. So we are hopping back on here. And as we're recording this, we're a couple hours away, a few hours away from the actual game of Belgium versus the United States. But a bunch of stuff has happened in Romes. I'm really not sure if anything else is going to possibly happen before game time. But let's take you through everything that has happened well since the last time we did talk here. The first thing first, robes FIFA denied Belgium's appeal, in which they were looking for answers about why Baligan was going to be allowed to play. That was the first major shoe to drop and a major development which seems to suggest robes that Belgium is out of options and Baligan's going to be able to play. But they did have a statement, and this is what set off the next chain of chain of events.
00:02:34
Speaker 2: Yes, because FIFA's statement reads, should we read it in its entirety just so you all can be up to date on this. So they said, the FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national team player Fuller and Balligan following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six match between the United States and Bosnia Herzegovina played on July first, twenty twenty six.
00:03:15
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah, blah, blah blah, blah blah blah.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: And they did make the point to say that a member of the committee who would be a voting member of this committee from the United States was not involved in the decision. So they're putting that out there, saying he obviously would have had a conflict of interest, so he removed himself from the vote. That was the only detail I think we got about the vote.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Wow, gee, thanks for the transparency now, Robes. After that statement, the Royal Belgian Football Association put out, I this was very informative, a statement that flies in the face of what FIFA put out. This is how they explained that. They said, following our previous statement, they wished to publicly explain the events of the past few hours. Robes. They feel like they have to update us in real time. This is how much the story has been moving, so they're go on to say. After learning through media reports of FIFA's decision to lift the automatic suspension of Ballion, the r BFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision and explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations. As its only response, FIFA sent a letter stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appoint and that we had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA and foreign appeal to be admissible. FIFA's own regulations state that the reason decision must first have been communicated to the appellent. Do you see what they're getting at? Yes, they You didn't give us the information to put in a proper appeal.
00:04:52
Speaker 2: We can't appeal a decision we don't understand. And if you haven't given the reasoning for the decision, we didn't appeal the decision. Boom. So we're in between a rock and a hard place, ropes with no options. RBS.
00:05:06
Speaker 1: This is amazing stuff. We always Rose you. You've covered plenty of Olympics, and at every Olympics there's some major, big story that there's no way you could have predicted. Here we are, and.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: Here we are and wow, Trump's in the middle of it.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: This is the one and he and again Rose, we should state that again, if he hadn't made a phone call, we probably wouldn't be here.
00:05:29
Speaker 2: Well, that's the question, because were they would they have considered, would they have looked into the decision by the referee, because it was controversial, because there was an uproar from analysts, from folks who know soccer way better than we do, from former soccer players who watched the play, And I didn't hear anyone correct me if I'm wrong, say yep, he deserved that red card. Did you ever hear one analyst or one former soccer player or someone who has obviously much better.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Not with perspective, not with real conviction. I mean, they wanted to give the referee okay, a subjective call. You can do your thing, fine, knock yourself out. But no, to your point, absolutely not. There was a fair consensus rose that this was not okay, a good call.
00:06:20
Speaker 2: So with that in mind, is it possible, even though it's rare, that this FIFA committee would have looked into it or were looking into it anyway? The call from Trump might just make it look terrible. Maybe it has the appearance of that having unfair influence on the committee. But is it possible that the committee was going in this direction anyway?
00:06:51
Speaker 1: The pushback to that is the timing. The pushback robes is that the game was last win, The lobbying started that night, and then the president's call was the next day. So if all this wasn't going on behind the scenes, robes, why did it take FIFA? If you're looking into it, you could have made that decision immediately if you were looking into it. What prompted you to start looking into it more aggressively?
00:07:20
Speaker 2: Right?
00:07:20
Speaker 1: It is unfair to both teams actually to have to wait until Saturday or Sunday.
00:07:25
Speaker 2: This Sunday when they made the announcement.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: To find out that on Monday. That is unfair. They could have made that decision earlier if they were making it independently. So I think Robes that has an argument to now there is not much chance they would have done this on the the other.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Thing that I'm just curious as a person who's looking from the outside who doesn't have a lot of I don't have perspective on how this process typically works. I know it's rare. I get that they've never done this. Well, they've only done this in nineteen sixty two, so yes.
00:08:02
Speaker 1: That I get that it's infrequent.
00:08:05
Speaker 2: Yes, But if this committee is made up of eighteen people, and okay, say the American stepped out, so say seventeen people made this decision or came to some sort of consensus, or if it was majority rule, I don't even know how they do that. It's obviously not a unanimous thing. Is it a majority thing?
00:08:26
Speaker 3: We don't know.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: But how do you then influence collectively an entire body, an entire committee to do President Trump's bidding unless they actually did independently review this and actually did come to the conclusion that it was unfair.
00:08:42
Speaker 1: Okay, So I think the most important thing you said in there was a slow phrase where you said, we don't know, because we don't know. Every question you asked is a legitimate one that usually gets answered as a part of the appeals process, as a part of any review process, robes. This is what the committee did, This is how the committee voted, This is why they made the decision. None of that. They don't know who voted, what what, They have no idea, So that lack of transparency robes is the problem here. So to get this many people to vote a certain way, Yeah, there are ways I would believe you could influence a vote. No suggestion like that has been made because we don't even know what the vote possibly was. So we just don't know anything.
00:09:30
Speaker 2: And then we did get a statement from the FIFA president, after we heard from the our president, after we heard from Belgium after their appeal was denied. We also got a statement from the FIFA.
00:09:41
Speaker 1: President and this was such bs. I'm gonna summon up. I'm taking this from someone. A British writer said this statement was nothing but a business statement, meant to get him out from under the bus that Trump threw it under. He said nothing and almost tried to wiggle his way out. It's almost a legal it's hard you could read through it, and it's a bore. But he kind of wiggles out and doesn't explain the decision, doesn't explain anything. Ropes, I'll put it in here.
00:10:14
Speaker 2: But yeah, like, I mean, yeah, we don't want to read the whole thing because you will doze off. But he basically acknowledges that he's seen the public comments, so he's aware of the controversy. And then he just wants to reiterate that FIFA's judicial bodies are independent, they operate autonomously, they apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and they decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. And so they're saying that because he's saying, because this committee is independent and is essential to the credibility and integrity of football. Basically, their decision must always be respected, and it ain't be respected right now, by a lot of folks.
00:11:02
Speaker 1: This is so, this is an unbelievable international mess.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: He did say, I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issues, or I read them when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.
00:11:20
Speaker 3: What I always do, however.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: Is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times. So he is saying, I don't care if you don't like it. I don't care if you think this is outrageous. He is saying that we have to protect the decision now. He also made a point He acknowledged that he did receive a call from Trump, but he also then said, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football state and business executives from around the world on many different issues.
00:12:04
Speaker 1: That's where that's where he lost all credibility in that statement. Right there, he lost every bit of credibility. You're trying to dismiss a call that you got from the President of the United States the day after that controversial call in the World Cup. Had nothing to do with that, stop man, just that thing. Man, you're not being transparent and your treatment us like we're stupid. That line. Forget everything else, he said, forget everything else. I just lump it in like it was nothing more. Stop. He called for a specific reason, and he wants to discuss that. Just be straight with us about it, man, that you know what, I skimmed over that thing and missed that line. That is a piece of crap.
00:12:41
Speaker 2: Well, and you know what, I didn't read the line before it, which will actually piss you off even more because he did actually act as if this was just a matter of fact, like just a regular call. He said, Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call, just as I received calls from Headstone. So yes, he lumped it in with just as a regular run of the mill call, just like all the other calls he gets from lots of other world leaders.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's a nice guy. Maybe somebody put that line in there for him. Nonetheless, I'll give you a couple more headlines here and roges. We knew this was possibly going to happen. The members of the England team and the French team are considering appeals. The English team they had a red card against Mexico last night. They one of their labor leaders has a good quote in their robes. But now they are considering. We are hearing officially that their football federation is considering telling FIFA, hey, let our guy play too. But this was the statements kind of a funny one in there from this labor leader.
00:13:47
Speaker 2: He said, whilst I believe that it was right for Gerald Kwansa to have received this red card and that refereeing rules must be applied consistent consistently, I believe it would be right to delay his suspension until after the completion of this World Cup, which is exactly what's been given to Flow. He yes, the suspension still stands, he just gets to delay it for a year. They would like the same insistent, they would like the same treatment.
00:14:15
Speaker 1: See, and that's a red card fringe. They had a guy Michael Ola say he got a yellow card. Robes. They even want the yellow card taken back, and they have filed an official appeal. They're not just talking, they have filed an appeal. Everybody should Why not the Brazilian Football Confederation who should mention they are defending robes and why not their referee that the president went after saying he got a sketchy background and had some suspect stuff without naming anything, without saying anything, that's throwing the that's messing with that dude's reputation on an international scale. Yes for what?
00:14:48
Speaker 2: And so the Brazilian Football Confederation said, there is nothing in his meaning that referees record that discredits him or gives grounds for any suspicion. The CBF for ji any insinuation casting doubt on Rafael Klaus's integrity. He is an exemplary professional.
00:15:07
Speaker 1: Good on them, Glad they put that out. Good on them. Well, what could happen tonight? There are a few scenarios, robes. Stay here, we'll explain what we think is the best possible outcome.
00:15:30
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to the ongoing saga of the World.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Cup, the United States versus Belgium. Too bad.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: It's not just what's happening on the field tonight, it's what's happening off the field. That's impacting what's happening on the field. And I fear for what's going to be happening in the stands around the stadium, reaction based on the outcome, based on everything that's happened in these last twenty four hours, that really has just put It's interesting the presidence that he didn't want to on the outcome, and that's why he wanted to see our guy. He wanted to see Flow in the game because he didn't think he deserved the red card. He didn't think he deserved the punishment, that it didn't fit the crime. But truly, there is a stain now on this game before it even starts.
00:16:19
Speaker 3: And if the United States wins.
00:16:21
Speaker 2: Tonight, it's going to have an asterisk for most people.
00:16:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, in a few years, they'll forget and just think about that win. I suppose robes at this level, sometimes people don't care. It's just just win. How we got to go about winning. It's just this is awful, Robes, the scenarios. If the US wins, the everybody here is going to be excited, but everybody around the world's going to be more pissed at us.
00:16:47
Speaker 2: Are they not probably, but I guess we're used to it at this point.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: Do you make a very good point, We're I.
00:16:55
Speaker 2: Feel like we've got thick skin because we have to have it, because look, anyone who's traveled international usually knows how well we're received by a lot of folks given the different time And honestly, this sounds terrible, but when we go anywhere in the world, We've made the comment that sometimes you know, you just kind of want to blend in and not stick out, like you're the American. But I have found when you tell people I'm from New York, it has.
00:17:18
Speaker 3: A much different reception.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: I'm just gonna stay with that New York. Everyone loves New York, especially now right with the Knicks. You see New York Yankees caps everywhere, So that's always.
00:17:30
Speaker 3: Been my go to.
00:17:30
Speaker 2: That sounds bad, I know, anyone who lives in any other state is like, really, but it's been effective.
00:17:36
Speaker 3: But yeah, no, I mean we've already I don't know.
00:17:39
Speaker 2: I feel like, if you're being honest with yourself as an American when you do travel abroad, it isn't necessarily something that people want to flaunt or throw out there just for just I don't know, keeping things peaceful and cool and calm. It's we're not well received.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: That is true. And we do have a reputation of being sometimes obnoxious, arrogant, obnoxious.
00:18:07
Speaker 2: Entitled, demanding, yeah, rude, we have that impatient.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: Rep and now here we are on a world stage and we seem to, according to the rest of the world, have done something that, as we say, Robes is on brand for us to a lot of people. That is just a matter of image, and that is just the truth of the matter. I said to you before, what's probably the best scenario, Robes, and I hate to say it out loud, Oh don't say it to make this all just go away and everybody feel better. The best case scenario it's for the US to lose this match.
00:18:51
Speaker 2: I'm still rooting for the US. Of course, there's no way I'm gonna. I understand what you're saying. The controversy goes away.
00:18:58
Speaker 1: Because we lose, because he can say we were full strength and all right, we lost. You can then say, yep, look you cheated us, and we still beat you. Everybody gets to walk away. Isn't that what we want is our guy to be on the field. Get him on the field, that would keep everybody from arguing because Robes, if the US wins this match, and if the US wins this match because the ball went from his foot to the back of the net, think about how much of a story that's gonna be.
00:19:34
Speaker 3: I feel for flow Balligan.
00:19:37
Speaker 2: I feel for him because he is literally a chess piece at this point and he is now a target, and not by his own doing.
00:19:49
Speaker 3: He didn't ask for this, he didn't push for this.
00:19:51
Speaker 2: In fact, in an earlier episode, you gave his quote about just how gracious and humble he was and how respectful he was to the game, the process, the rules. He was not asking for special treatment. So you know, I really hope people can separate their feelings about what has transpired, what FIFA's decision was, and maybe even any frustration at our own president and not Levot at this player because he had nothing to do with this, and he is, by all accounts a phenomenal player. And I'll be cheering on Team USA as well. I would imagine every American watching the game tonight. But it is just it's just unfortunate because we have been so excited about this game.
00:20:35
Speaker 3: We're here at home.
00:20:37
Speaker 2: The World Cup has come to the United States, and we have really been celebrating. Honestly, up until this point, I felt some American pride that some of our silly stuff, from waffle House to Sam's Club, to free refills, to our roadside silliness, that folks like to take exits to go see some hilarious souvenir.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: The rant, So forget the rant.
00:21:00
Speaker 2: Oh the ranch dressing. How could I forget the ranch dressing? But you know, it's been fun to see cowboy hats, you know, to see different cultures enjoying our Americanism, and it's been fun.
00:21:12
Speaker 3: And you start to get this set like, oh, we can be not.
00:21:15
Speaker 2: That we aren't proud Americans, but that we can actually take some joy in watching other people experience so much of what makes us Americans. And this is just, ah, it's so frustrating because we were on such a good path, like things were feeling so unified and celebratory, and I just felt the sense of together and as watching people who barely speak English singing country roads.
00:21:41
Speaker 3: I mean, it's just been super fun and.
00:21:43
Speaker 2: Awesome to feel like we were all in this together for this sport that we're actually now kind of coming around to enjoying collectively as Americans.
00:21:53
Speaker 3: So anyway, I hope, I hope this is a blip. I don't think it is.
00:21:57
Speaker 2: But maybe I can believe that we can get past this, and maybe we can just be excellent on the field and prove that we have every right to advance if we do what we're supposed to do. And yes, with the help of our star player flow Balligan. But man, I just can't imagine the pressure he must be feeling right now before he takes to the field.
00:22:17
Speaker 1: But look at the emotion. He's having a great World Cup. This is his moment. He had a game, he gets a red card. You know how much that stings. That hurts. You're waiting, you think you're not gonna play, Then boom, you get word you're gonna play. Now you're excited. And then hours later than the next hour and the next hour, all of this explodes, and now everybody in the world outside of a US citizen is against you, is against you personally, even robes. That's too much fun.
00:22:47
Speaker 2: Maybe he's staying offline, Maybe he's staying away from his phone and his computer, and his head is in the game and he's not paying attention to any of the noise.
00:22:54
Speaker 3: I certainly hope.
00:22:55
Speaker 1: So, I hope he has a hat trick Tonightrobes. I hope he goes, yes, get mad at our guy. What do you want our Yes, our president has the FIFA president on speed dial. What that's arrogant? Let's go ahead, just be arrogant.
00:23:13
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness. All right, well, this is going to be a hell of a game.
00:23:17
Speaker 3: Now beyond just.
00:23:19
Speaker 2: The football that we're watching, the political football has certainly been a big part of the story and it's going to continue to be. But we'll be monitoring it all because it has been changing by the hour. Every time I've come back. You're like, man, you wouldn't believe what's been happening. So, yes, we're on top of it. We will keep you updated and we will all be watching. Thank you for listening to us, everybody. I made me Robock alongside TJ.
00:23:42
Speaker 3: Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey that folks, it is Monday, July sixth. Can we just play this game already? The drama, the saga, the controversy continues, and it's getting worse. Welcome to this episode of ABY and TJ. Ballagan Gate. I saw someone put that, Doude. I didn't come up with that, but ballagan.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: Gate, Ballagan Gate, Well that's what it's turned into now.
00:00:24
Speaker 3: And look we.
00:00:26
Speaker 1: Owed the name, the title like I didn't have a good name for it. Got me though, ball Gate.
00:00:31
Speaker 2: No. I mean, anytime there's a controversy, you just put a gate. Watergate kind of opened the gate.
00:00:35
Speaker 1: For that, or gate, World Cup Gate, no, Trump Gate.
00:00:40
Speaker 2: What which one would you be picking from? I don't even know how that. That is way too broad of a category. That's like a folder. And inside that boulder there are like I don't know how many games involved with that. But no, I was been telling you I was. I had to run a few errands today. I was in ubers and in cabs and every single.
00:00:57
Speaker 3: Car I got into.
00:00:59
Speaker 2: The folks on the radio, we're talking about a new development with what's going on with this big match between the United States and Belgium. And yes, Balligan playing on the field despite getting a red card, and Trump's intervention in all of this, and FIFA's rolling all of this, and Belgian Belgium's appeal, and now other countries are saying, hold up, we want our players to not have to sit out a game with their red card. It's just ballooned into something. We started off just doing one episode on.
00:01:31
Speaker 3: This this morning.
00:01:31
Speaker 2: Is this now like our third episode on this because it keeps changing.
00:01:35
Speaker 1: The one the last one we did, we thought it was going to be the one update, I'm telling you. Within an hour, I said, damn, we need to update that because so much has happened. So we are hopping back on here. And as we're recording this, we're a couple hours away, a few hours away from the actual game of Belgium versus the United States. But a bunch of stuff has happened in Romes. I'm really not sure if anything else is going to possibly happen before game time. But let's take you through everything that has happened well since the last time we did talk here. The first thing first, robes FIFA denied Belgium's appeal, in which they were looking for answers about why Baligan was going to be allowed to play. That was the first major shoe to drop and a major development which seems to suggest robes that Belgium is out of options and Baligan's going to be able to play. But they did have a statement, and this is what set off the next chain of chain of events.
00:02:34
Speaker 2: Yes, because FIFA's statement reads, should we read it in its entirety just so you all can be up to date on this. So they said, the FIFA Appeal Committee has rendered a request submitted by the Royal Belgian Football Association as inadmissible in relation to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's decision to suspend for one year the match suspension imposed on United States national team player Fuller and Balligan following his dismissal for a direct red card during the FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six match between the United States and Bosnia Herzegovina played on July first, twenty twenty six.
00:03:15
Speaker 3: Blah blah blah, blah, blah blah, blah blah blah.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: And they did make the point to say that a member of the committee who would be a voting member of this committee from the United States was not involved in the decision. So they're putting that out there, saying he obviously would have had a conflict of interest, so he removed himself from the vote. That was the only detail I think we got about the vote.
00:03:35
Speaker 1: Wow, gee, thanks for the transparency now, Robes. After that statement, the Royal Belgian Football Association put out, I this was very informative, a statement that flies in the face of what FIFA put out. This is how they explained that. They said, following our previous statement, they wished to publicly explain the events of the past few hours. Robes. They feel like they have to update us in real time. This is how much the story has been moving, so they're go on to say. After learning through media reports of FIFA's decision to lift the automatic suspension of Ballion, the r BFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision and explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations. As its only response, FIFA sent a letter stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appoint and that we had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA and foreign appeal to be admissible. FIFA's own regulations state that the reason decision must first have been communicated to the appellent. Do you see what they're getting at? Yes, they You didn't give us the information to put in a proper appeal.
00:04:52
Speaker 2: We can't appeal a decision we don't understand. And if you haven't given the reasoning for the decision, we didn't appeal the decision. Boom. So we're in between a rock and a hard place, ropes with no options. RBS.
00:05:06
Speaker 1: This is amazing stuff. We always Rose you. You've covered plenty of Olympics, and at every Olympics there's some major, big story that there's no way you could have predicted. Here we are, and.
00:05:19
Speaker 2: Here we are and wow, Trump's in the middle of it.
00:05:22
Speaker 1: This is the one and he and again Rose, we should state that again, if he hadn't made a phone call, we probably wouldn't be here.
00:05:29
Speaker 2: Well, that's the question, because were they would they have considered, would they have looked into the decision by the referee, because it was controversial, because there was an uproar from analysts, from folks who know soccer way better than we do, from former soccer players who watched the play, And I didn't hear anyone correct me if I'm wrong, say yep, he deserved that red card. Did you ever hear one analyst or one former soccer player or someone who has obviously much better.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Not with perspective, not with real conviction. I mean, they wanted to give the referee okay, a subjective call. You can do your thing, fine, knock yourself out. But no, to your point, absolutely not. There was a fair consensus rose that this was not okay, a good call.
00:06:20
Speaker 2: So with that in mind, is it possible, even though it's rare, that this FIFA committee would have looked into it or were looking into it anyway? The call from Trump might just make it look terrible. Maybe it has the appearance of that having unfair influence on the committee. But is it possible that the committee was going in this direction anyway?
00:06:51
Speaker 1: The pushback to that is the timing. The pushback robes is that the game was last win, The lobbying started that night, and then the president's call was the next day. So if all this wasn't going on behind the scenes, robes, why did it take FIFA? If you're looking into it, you could have made that decision immediately if you were looking into it. What prompted you to start looking into it more aggressively?
00:07:20
Speaker 2: Right?
00:07:20
Speaker 1: It is unfair to both teams actually to have to wait until Saturday or Sunday.
00:07:25
Speaker 2: This Sunday when they made the announcement.
00:07:26
Speaker 1: To find out that on Monday. That is unfair. They could have made that decision earlier if they were making it independently. So I think Robes that has an argument to now there is not much chance they would have done this on the the other.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Thing that I'm just curious as a person who's looking from the outside who doesn't have a lot of I don't have perspective on how this process typically works. I know it's rare. I get that they've never done this. Well, they've only done this in nineteen sixty two, so yes.
00:08:02
Speaker 1: That I get that it's infrequent.
00:08:05
Speaker 2: Yes, But if this committee is made up of eighteen people, and okay, say the American stepped out, so say seventeen people made this decision or came to some sort of consensus, or if it was majority rule, I don't even know how they do that. It's obviously not a unanimous thing. Is it a majority thing?
00:08:26
Speaker 3: We don't know.
00:08:27
Speaker 2: But how do you then influence collectively an entire body, an entire committee to do President Trump's bidding unless they actually did independently review this and actually did come to the conclusion that it was unfair.
00:08:42
Speaker 1: Okay, So I think the most important thing you said in there was a slow phrase where you said, we don't know, because we don't know. Every question you asked is a legitimate one that usually gets answered as a part of the appeals process, as a part of any review process, robes. This is what the committee did, This is how the committee voted, This is why they made the decision. None of that. They don't know who voted, what what, They have no idea, So that lack of transparency robes is the problem here. So to get this many people to vote a certain way, Yeah, there are ways I would believe you could influence a vote. No suggestion like that has been made because we don't even know what the vote possibly was. So we just don't know anything.
00:09:30
Speaker 2: And then we did get a statement from the FIFA president, after we heard from the our president, after we heard from Belgium after their appeal was denied. We also got a statement from the FIFA.
00:09:41
Speaker 1: President and this was such bs. I'm gonna summon up. I'm taking this from someone. A British writer said this statement was nothing but a business statement, meant to get him out from under the bus that Trump threw it under. He said nothing and almost tried to wiggle his way out. It's almost a legal it's hard you could read through it, and it's a bore. But he kind of wiggles out and doesn't explain the decision, doesn't explain anything. Ropes, I'll put it in here.
00:10:14
Speaker 2: But yeah, like, I mean, yeah, we don't want to read the whole thing because you will doze off. But he basically acknowledges that he's seen the public comments, so he's aware of the controversy. And then he just wants to reiterate that FIFA's judicial bodies are independent, they operate autonomously, they apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and they decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. And so they're saying that because he's saying, because this committee is independent and is essential to the credibility and integrity of football. Basically, their decision must always be respected, and it ain't be respected right now, by a lot of folks.
00:11:02
Speaker 1: This is so, this is an unbelievable international mess.
00:11:07
Speaker 2: He did say, I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issues, or I read them when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.
00:11:20
Speaker 3: What I always do, however.
00:11:21
Speaker 2: Is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times. So he is saying, I don't care if you don't like it. I don't care if you think this is outrageous. He is saying that we have to protect the decision now. He also made a point He acknowledged that he did receive a call from Trump, but he also then said, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football state and business executives from around the world on many different issues.
00:12:04
Speaker 1: That's where that's where he lost all credibility in that statement. Right there, he lost every bit of credibility. You're trying to dismiss a call that you got from the President of the United States the day after that controversial call in the World Cup. Had nothing to do with that, stop man, just that thing. Man, you're not being transparent and your treatment us like we're stupid. That line. Forget everything else, he said, forget everything else. I just lump it in like it was nothing more. Stop. He called for a specific reason, and he wants to discuss that. Just be straight with us about it, man, that you know what, I skimmed over that thing and missed that line. That is a piece of crap.
00:12:41
Speaker 2: Well, and you know what, I didn't read the line before it, which will actually piss you off even more because he did actually act as if this was just a matter of fact, like just a regular call. He said, Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call, just as I received calls from Headstone. So yes, he lumped it in with just as a regular run of the mill call, just like all the other calls he gets from lots of other world leaders.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: I'm sure he's a nice guy. Maybe somebody put that line in there for him. Nonetheless, I'll give you a couple more headlines here and roges. We knew this was possibly going to happen. The members of the England team and the French team are considering appeals. The English team they had a red card against Mexico last night. They one of their labor leaders has a good quote in their robes. But now they are considering. We are hearing officially that their football federation is considering telling FIFA, hey, let our guy play too. But this was the statements kind of a funny one in there from this labor leader.
00:13:47
Speaker 2: He said, whilst I believe that it was right for Gerald Kwansa to have received this red card and that refereeing rules must be applied consistent consistently, I believe it would be right to delay his suspension until after the completion of this World Cup, which is exactly what's been given to Flow. He yes, the suspension still stands, he just gets to delay it for a year. They would like the same insistent, they would like the same treatment.
00:14:15
Speaker 1: See, and that's a red card fringe. They had a guy Michael Ola say he got a yellow card. Robes. They even want the yellow card taken back, and they have filed an official appeal. They're not just talking, they have filed an appeal. Everybody should Why not the Brazilian Football Confederation who should mention they are defending robes and why not their referee that the president went after saying he got a sketchy background and had some suspect stuff without naming anything, without saying anything, that's throwing the that's messing with that dude's reputation on an international scale. Yes for what?
00:14:48
Speaker 2: And so the Brazilian Football Confederation said, there is nothing in his meaning that referees record that discredits him or gives grounds for any suspicion. The CBF for ji any insinuation casting doubt on Rafael Klaus's integrity. He is an exemplary professional.
00:15:07
Speaker 1: Good on them, Glad they put that out. Good on them. Well, what could happen tonight? There are a few scenarios, robes. Stay here, we'll explain what we think is the best possible outcome.
00:15:30
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone to the ongoing saga of the World.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: Cup, the United States versus Belgium. Too bad.
00:15:38
Speaker 2: It's not just what's happening on the field tonight, it's what's happening off the field. That's impacting what's happening on the field. And I fear for what's going to be happening in the stands around the stadium, reaction based on the outcome, based on everything that's happened in these last twenty four hours, that really has just put It's interesting the presidence that he didn't want to on the outcome, and that's why he wanted to see our guy. He wanted to see Flow in the game because he didn't think he deserved the red card. He didn't think he deserved the punishment, that it didn't fit the crime. But truly, there is a stain now on this game before it even starts.
00:16:19
Speaker 3: And if the United States wins.
00:16:21
Speaker 2: Tonight, it's going to have an asterisk for most people.
00:16:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, in a few years, they'll forget and just think about that win. I suppose robes at this level, sometimes people don't care. It's just just win. How we got to go about winning. It's just this is awful, Robes, the scenarios. If the US wins, the everybody here is going to be excited, but everybody around the world's going to be more pissed at us.
00:16:47
Speaker 2: Are they not probably, but I guess we're used to it at this point.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: Do you make a very good point, We're I.
00:16:55
Speaker 2: Feel like we've got thick skin because we have to have it, because look, anyone who's traveled international usually knows how well we're received by a lot of folks given the different time And honestly, this sounds terrible, but when we go anywhere in the world, We've made the comment that sometimes you know, you just kind of want to blend in and not stick out, like you're the American. But I have found when you tell people I'm from New York, it has.
00:17:18
Speaker 3: A much different reception.
00:17:21
Speaker 2: I'm just gonna stay with that New York. Everyone loves New York, especially now right with the Knicks. You see New York Yankees caps everywhere, So that's always.
00:17:30
Speaker 3: Been my go to.
00:17:30
Speaker 2: That sounds bad, I know, anyone who lives in any other state is like, really, but it's been effective.
00:17:36
Speaker 3: But yeah, no, I mean we've already I don't know.
00:17:39
Speaker 2: I feel like, if you're being honest with yourself as an American when you do travel abroad, it isn't necessarily something that people want to flaunt or throw out there just for just I don't know, keeping things peaceful and cool and calm. It's we're not well received.
00:17:58
Speaker 1: That is true. And we do have a reputation of being sometimes obnoxious, arrogant, obnoxious.
00:18:07
Speaker 2: Entitled, demanding, yeah, rude, we have that impatient.
00:18:13
Speaker 1: Rep and now here we are on a world stage and we seem to, according to the rest of the world, have done something that, as we say, Robes is on brand for us to a lot of people. That is just a matter of image, and that is just the truth of the matter. I said to you before, what's probably the best scenario, Robes, and I hate to say it out loud, Oh don't say it to make this all just go away and everybody feel better. The best case scenario it's for the US to lose this match.
00:18:51
Speaker 2: I'm still rooting for the US. Of course, there's no way I'm gonna. I understand what you're saying. The controversy goes away.
00:18:58
Speaker 1: Because we lose, because he can say we were full strength and all right, we lost. You can then say, yep, look you cheated us, and we still beat you. Everybody gets to walk away. Isn't that what we want is our guy to be on the field. Get him on the field, that would keep everybody from arguing because Robes, if the US wins this match, and if the US wins this match because the ball went from his foot to the back of the net, think about how much of a story that's gonna be.
00:19:34
Speaker 3: I feel for flow Balligan.
00:19:37
Speaker 2: I feel for him because he is literally a chess piece at this point and he is now a target, and not by his own doing.
00:19:49
Speaker 3: He didn't ask for this, he didn't push for this.
00:19:51
Speaker 2: In fact, in an earlier episode, you gave his quote about just how gracious and humble he was and how respectful he was to the game, the process, the rules. He was not asking for special treatment. So you know, I really hope people can separate their feelings about what has transpired, what FIFA's decision was, and maybe even any frustration at our own president and not Levot at this player because he had nothing to do with this, and he is, by all accounts a phenomenal player. And I'll be cheering on Team USA as well. I would imagine every American watching the game tonight. But it is just it's just unfortunate because we have been so excited about this game.
00:20:35
Speaker 3: We're here at home.
00:20:37
Speaker 2: The World Cup has come to the United States, and we have really been celebrating. Honestly, up until this point, I felt some American pride that some of our silly stuff, from waffle House to Sam's Club, to free refills, to our roadside silliness, that folks like to take exits to go see some hilarious souvenir.
00:20:59
Speaker 1: The rant, So forget the rant.
00:21:00
Speaker 2: Oh the ranch dressing. How could I forget the ranch dressing? But you know, it's been fun to see cowboy hats, you know, to see different cultures enjoying our Americanism, and it's been fun.
00:21:12
Speaker 3: And you start to get this set like, oh, we can be not.
00:21:15
Speaker 2: That we aren't proud Americans, but that we can actually take some joy in watching other people experience so much of what makes us Americans. And this is just, ah, it's so frustrating because we were on such a good path, like things were feeling so unified and celebratory, and I just felt the sense of together and as watching people who barely speak English singing country roads.
00:21:41
Speaker 3: I mean, it's just been super fun and.
00:21:43
Speaker 2: Awesome to feel like we were all in this together for this sport that we're actually now kind of coming around to enjoying collectively as Americans.
00:21:53
Speaker 3: So anyway, I hope, I hope this is a blip. I don't think it is.
00:21:57
Speaker 2: But maybe I can believe that we can get past this, and maybe we can just be excellent on the field and prove that we have every right to advance if we do what we're supposed to do. And yes, with the help of our star player flow Balligan. But man, I just can't imagine the pressure he must be feeling right now before he takes to the field.
00:22:17
Speaker 1: But look at the emotion. He's having a great World Cup. This is his moment. He had a game, he gets a red card. You know how much that stings. That hurts. You're waiting, you think you're not gonna play, Then boom, you get word you're gonna play. Now you're excited. And then hours later than the next hour and the next hour, all of this explodes, and now everybody in the world outside of a US citizen is against you, is against you personally, even robes. That's too much fun.
00:22:47
Speaker 2: Maybe he's staying offline, Maybe he's staying away from his phone and his computer, and his head is in the game and he's not paying attention to any of the noise.
00:22:54
Speaker 3: I certainly hope.
00:22:55
Speaker 1: So, I hope he has a hat trick Tonightrobes. I hope he goes, yes, get mad at our guy. What do you want our Yes, our president has the FIFA president on speed dial. What that's arrogant? Let's go ahead, just be arrogant.
00:23:13
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness. All right, well, this is going to be a hell of a game.
00:23:17
Speaker 3: Now beyond just.
00:23:19
Speaker 2: The football that we're watching, the political football has certainly been a big part of the story and it's going to continue to be. But we'll be monitoring it all because it has been changing by the hour. Every time I've come back. You're like, man, you wouldn't believe what's been happening. So, yes, we're on top of it. We will keep you updated and we will all be watching. Thank you for listening to us, everybody. I made me Robock alongside TJ.
00:23:42
Speaker 3: Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.