Politics At Play In World Cup
One Caribbean Nation. A THORNY ISSUE by Andi Thornhill Politics at play in World Cup IT WAS ONLY a matter of time before geopolitics entered the World Cup. Donald Trump, largely a spectator, found it difficult to keep his mouth quiet when the United States had to play in the last 16. By his own admission, he asked that red-carded Folarin Balogun be given a chance to play just because he was too good a player to miss the match. Whether true or not, all he had to do was to give FIFA president Gianni Infantino a call and the issue was settled. The injustice of the move, questioned by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and others fell on death ears. Trump had spoken and that was that. It didn’t start there. FIFA had also agreed to give Cristiano Ronaldo a free pass before the World Cup, lifting a suspension for the first game in this campaign. He was suspended for the first game for an elbow on Irishman Dara O’Shea but Trum...