Trump and the Fifa debacle
The US president is the first leader since Benito Mussolini in 1934 to intervene publicly in his team’s favour
Edward Luce
Donald Trump is joined by Fifa president Gianni Infantino at the White House. Like the US president, Infantino is a one-man show © Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesCall it the anti-Midas touch.
Donald Trump loves gold.
Yet so much of what he handles, from reflecting pools to US alliances, seems to turn into something else.
His latest foray was into the Fifa World Cup.
A tournament that was proving an unexpected success went sour after Trump called Fifa, which then overturned the one-game ban on America’s star player, Folarin Balogun.
The US lost 4-1 to Belgium in any case.
Compared with his ceaseless drive to multiply his family’s wealth, and acts of war or peace, Trump’s Fifa intervention might qualify as a footnote.
It is a fair bet, however, that it was among his most noticed actions on the global street.
Footballers are accustomed to debatable calls by referees.
The last time a red card was overturned in a World Cup because of pressure from on high was in Chile in 1962, years before the birth of Fifa’s current president, Gianni Infantino.
Trump is the first leader since Benito Mussolini in 1934 to intervene publicly in his team’s favour (then-fascist Italy was host and won the cup).
Global opinion has also taken note of Infantino, who is Trump’s world sports doppelgänger.
An advocacy group has launched a class-action-style complaint against Fifa for breaking its own rules on staying politically neutral.
The Swiss-Italian Fifa president turned up to Trump’s inauguration, rented offices in the New York Trump Tower, awarded him the first Fifa Peace Prize — having lobbied fruitlessly for Trump to win the Nobel — and has been involved with Trump’s Board of Peace.
No other sports figure was invited. Infantino appeared at that body’s first meeting in a red Maga hat.
Their most prominent shared quality is a preference for autocrats and bad relations with more law-based societies.
Just as Trump prefers dealing with family-run nations, especially in the Gulf, Infantino runs in similar circles.
Trump was given a $400mn Boeing plane by Qatar.
Infantino flies around the world on a plane supplied by the sheikhdom.
He also has a taste for motorcades.
New Zealand turned down his request for one during the women’s World Cup in 2023; the city of Vancouver also said no when it hosted a Fifa meeting in April.
Readers can guess which countries give Infantino that privilege.
He blew through Fifa’s selection process to ensure that Saudi Arabia was the only bidder to host the 2034 World Cup (Qatar was 2022).
Like Trump, Infantino is a one-man show.
Fifa’s vice-presidents were not consulted over his hurriedly confected prize for Trump in December.
“The world is a safer place [because of Trump],” said Infantino as he handed over the gold medallion.
They also share approval of Vladimir Putin, who awarded Infantino the Russian Order of Friendship after it hosted the 2018 World Cup.
Each stokes their own personality cult.
“We are witness to a new age,” says the new engraving on the Fifa World Cup trophy.
“The golden era of club football . . . Inspired by the Fifa president Gianni Infantino.”
And each is reviled in the same countries: Uefa, Europe’s football body, accused Fifa of crossing a “red line” in overturning Balogun’s ban.
In Europe and Canada, Trump’s actions typically come as a shock.
But there was no chorus of European condemnations when Trump’s agents deported a Somali referee, banned Iran’s team from staying overnight on US soil, and delayed visas and entry for players from Senegal, Haiti and Iraq.
Such treatment was sadly anticipated.
Though most people around the world will have heard of Trump’s Fifa shenanigans, the bulk of the venting came from other western nations — along with a few lonely American liberals who denounced Trump’s interference.
But most Americans, including plenty of Trump critics, appeared happy in this instance with the rule-bending. In the end, Trump’s move turned out to be futile.
Hyphenated Americans can meanwhile pivot to their other teams.
Trump and Infantino know in their bones something their detractors often forget — people will forgive a lot if you can keep them entertained.
Forget pieties about football bringing people together, let alone advancing peace; the clash between national teams is war by other means.
Had the US defeated Belgium with the help of Balogun’s right foot, there would have been a lot of transatlantic hissing.
Trump has badly damaged US soft power.
But to the rest of the world, this outrage is business as usual.
America has always done what it can and smaller nations have suffered what they must.
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