Rubrica

Thanks to the intervention of the malignant orange turd, when the Belgian soccer team took to the field in their World Cup match against the USA, they had virtually 100% global support. "Today we are all Belgian", was a popular comment across the social media platforms. The whole unfortunate episode, however, raises some interesting points about political intervention in sport and when it is, and importantly, is not, appropriate. To recap: in the USA's match against Bosnia and Herzegovina two days earlier, US striker, Folarin Balogun, received a one-match suspension after stomping dangerously on the ankle of BH defender Tarik Muharemovic. The referee deemed Balogun's action to be "dangerous foul play" and issued the red card. Cartoon credit: Guy Venables The suspension made Balogun, considered to be the best player in the American line-up, ineligible to play in the final 16 match against Belgium.  Enter, uninvited, Donald Trump. A phone call was made to FIFA...