The debate about Balogun's suspended red card is driving me crazy

Not that me saying any of this will matter, but I'm honestly astonished by the arguments happening in this sub. I'm especially shocked by the attacks on Americans and the US Men's National Team as if we're all just alright with what has happened. Maybe it's foolish to believe this American sharing their perspective on what has happened (as far as we understand it) will change anything, but I feel compelled to say something.

An event like this is the perfect example of why I've been personally so conflicted about this World Cup. I have been waiting my whole life for a competitive US Men's National Team. My wife and I were planning on attending at least one game before FIFA gave Trump that made up peace prize. And that is the problem with Trump...he tarnishes everything he can get his grubby little hands on, regardless of whether he's invited in or not. He makes everything about him, and this is what hurts me the most. I want the US Men's National Team to succeed...but I know that Trump will figure out a way to make their success about him and his success. And from an American perspective, that even makes it really hard for me to separate the sport from the politics...and THAT'S the problem here.

I doubt Trump cares one bit about the US Men's National Team, but what he (or more likely some online advisor) saw was a bunch of people upset about an "unjust" red card given to a US player. Someone saw an opportunity to try to boost his popularity by inserting himself so that he could either stoke rage if nothing changed or claim credit if it's overturned.

Here are the problems with this event as I see them:

1. Trump called - we may never know if Trump's call had any effect. Maybe it did force a review. Maybe the review was already happening. But it doesn't matter, that he called throws the whole process into question. What we do know is that an "anonymous source" without the authority to talk on the matter has said the call happened (or maybe more than one call? I've seen some comments stating that it was multiple calls...which honestly makes him look even more desperate to have some sort of influence over this). As far as I've seen, we don't even know which organization this source is from. We know for a FACT that Trump has made up phone calls and conversations before to feign influence over world events. It could also be the case that FIFA has now confirmed the call and I haven't kept up.

2. Lack of transparency - FIFA not having a transparent process by which to properly review things that is both fair and doesn't undermine the authority of the referees in the game. FIFA isn't the only sporting organization with this problem. We have rules and a system for enforcing the rules that were built for a time before every single fan didn't have access to high definition, 4k tvs with slow motion replay of every single inch of the game. Referees need to have the ability to assert their authority and control the way the game is played. We also need a mechanism for recognizing in a humane way that they are human and can make mistakes, miss things, or just have an obstructed view. That process needs to be developed and laid out because otherwise, we end up here...where everyone is left speculating about what influenced their decision. FIFA also backed themselves into a corner by making this exact same decision several times leading up to the World Cup, and by the looks of it from the outside, they're creating the process while they go along...which is always a problem.

3. FIFA is corrupt as hell - I don't think much else needs to be said other than it's astonishing to me how selective some of the comments have been on FIFA's corruption. People are acting self-righteous as if FIFA's corrupt actions have NEVER impacted a game before...please. The US didn't corrupt FIFA with this one phone call. FIFA has been a criminal organization for a long time. And it's possible to both hold this position and not be "hand-waving" away corruption.

Ultimately, this whole thing is first and foremost unfair to the players as well as the fans of the sport, and because of that I think we need to chill out a bit and see things for what they really are. This is a Trump and FIFA problem. Not a problem with any fans of the sport. Not a problem with the players and the teams in this instance...so stop conflating these things.

If an American fan is being an asshole and telling you to "whine more" or "get over it," then yeah...flame them...I just request that you please leave the rest of us out of it. Thank you!