How Trump tainted the World Cup and still lost
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, I'm Patricia Carvellis, the host of Politics Now. And throughout the week on the podcast, I'm joined by the brightest political minds at the ABC to wade through the political spin and bring you the analysis you need to know. No, I think they are hedging. I just don't think you can draw a conclusion from their hedging. And I think everyone's looking for a conclusion in the hedging. We go beyond the headlines, digging into the key political stories of the day and making sure we have a little bit of fun along the way.
What led to the USA's elimination from the FIFA World Cup?
We're always talking about polls. Poll, poll, poll, poll, poll. It's called Politics Now and you can find it on ABC Listen.
In the end, even an extraordinary intervention by the US president couldn't save them.
How did Donald Trump intervene in the World Cup proceedings?
The USA is out of the FIFA World Cup after being thrashed by Belgium. Has Donald Trump's meddling, which saw a red card removed for a star American player, trashed the competition? Today's sports integrity expert, Catherine Aldway, on what it says about the sport and what needs to change. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney.
What impact did Trump's meddling have on the integrity of the tournament?
This is ABC News Daily.
America's hopes of beating Belgium in the round of 16 are looking brighter after a personal intervention from Donald Trump. In an unprecedented move, FIFA has cleared US leading goalscorer Folloran Balogun to play despite receiving a red card.
Yes, I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to a man who's highly respected and by the way, whose level of respect has gone up tenfold.
In a statement, FIFA says an independent body overturned Baligan's suspension, citing Article 27 of the Disciplinary Code, paving the way for Baligan to play against Belgium.
What does sports integrity expert Catherine Ordway say about the situation?
Catherine, there's a stench hanging over the World Cup. The competition has been tainted. It's been trashed. These are just some of the things that have been said and written since Donald Trump's quite extraordinary intervention. What did you make of it?
Well, there was never going to be any doubt that politics and this FIFA Men's World Cup were going to intertwine. From the moment that the FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed over the FIFA Peace Prize to the president of the United States, we knew that there was going to be political involvement all the way through.
The referee's decision is... to red card. I didn't know what the hell a red card was.
What are the implications of political intervention in sports?
When I found out, I said, you got to be kidding. This guy just hands up. Okay, your best player is not going to play next week or in the next game. I said, wow, that's a lot of power. That's terrible.
Well, Trump's intervention, of course, it didn't really pay off because the USA suffered a crushing defeat against Belgium, even though Balogun was on the pitch.
The American dream fizzles out. Today they were outfought, outplayed, and they are out. United States of America 1, Belgium 4.
And we're listening there to SBS coverage, but tell me,
How have past political interventions influenced FIFA decisions?
How did he play? Because, you know, there was a lot riding on him, a bit of pressure for sure.
Oh, there must have been enormous pressure. There's no way that he asked for any of this to occur. And I just wonder how much of a weight was on his shoulders in any event. His situation for even being in the US team is fascinating of itself. He has citizenship as a US citizen because of a birthright requirement under the Constitution, which President Trump tried to rip away. And only two days before he scored his goal against Bosnia, the Supreme Court had overwritten the executive order from President Trump that tried to take away this constitutional right for people born in the US. And so for that reason alone, he was allowed to play for the US.
What reforms are needed to prevent political influence in sports?
So the whole circumstances about him playing are just extraordinary.
So often with Trump, you couldn't make this stuff up, right? It's just incredible. All right, so Donald Trump has indeed been meddling in the World Cup. And from his comments before the US-Belgium match, he certainly didn't think there was anything particularly wrong with that.
But all I did, all I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul. And, you know, again, I'm good at this stuff.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:37
2
What led to the USA's elimination from the FIFA World Cup?
0:37–1:04
3
How did Donald Trump intervene in the World Cup proceedings?
1:04–1:29
4
What impact did Trump's meddling have on the integrity of the tournament?
1:29–2:23
5
What does sports integrity expert Catherine Ordway say about the situation?
2:23–3:08
6
What are the implications of political intervention in sports?
3:08–3:47
7
How have past political interventions influenced FIFA decisions?
3:47–4:36
8
What reforms are needed to prevent political influence in sports?
4:36–15:46