{"id":438,"date":"2026-07-08T13:13:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=438"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:13:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:13:00","slug":"will-the-u-s-get-a-red-card-at-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=438","title":{"rendered":"Will the U.S. Get a Red Card at NATO?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For all the talk of the very real transatlantic tensions over aid to Ukraine and war with Iran, the NATO summit that kicked off today could be overshadowed by something much smaller: the global controversy over FIFA\u2019s decision to allow star U.S. striker Folarin Balogun to play in last night\u2019s game against Belgium.<\/p>\n

Read more Democrats Call for Platner to Withdraw From Senate Race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Not that it mattered much on the field. Balogun was a non-factor as the more experienced and talented European side sent the hapless U.S. team crashing out of the tournament with a 4-1 thrashing. But how he got to the field became a matter of international debate after the automatic suspension that followed his prior-round red card was lifted by FIFA in an intervention that hadn\u2019t happened since 1962.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The impact on the summit\u2019s diplomatic pitch, though unclear at the moment, could be similarly discomfiting after President Donald Trump confirmed he personally reached out to FIFA about the suspension, giving the impression that political pressure, not independent sporting judgment, led to his return.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The summit will bring Trump face to face with leaders from countries definitely more passionate about soccer than the United States has been historically \u2013 and for whom the brouhaha is a story about politics and economics as well as sportsmanship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If this all feels a little silly to you, consider that soccer is the most-watched sport in the world and generates enormous amounts of national pride and billions of dollars in economic activity. Politics could never be far behind when those forces are involved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The incident\u2019s potential to upstage the NATO gathering was made clear when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked about it as he met with Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco P\u00e9rez Mackenna.
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s turning into an international incident. I don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll bring it up at NATO tomorrow when we\u2019re there with the Belgians and everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump\u2019s Role<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In the Oval Office on Monday, Trump confirmed he had called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI didn\u2019t tell him what to do,\u201d said Trump, who admitted he didn\u2019t know what a red card was before this hullabaloo. \u201cAll I did: I asked for a review because I didn\u2019t think it was a foul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Today\u2019s News: Trump Takes On NATO as U.S. Knocked Out of World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Infantino confirmed Trump called him but downplayed the significance of the call, saying FIFA\u2019s \u201cindependent judicial bodies\u201d handled the controversy. The organization later rejected<\/u> Belgium\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump encountered Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever at group events at the summit but does not have a scheduled one-on-one meeting with him. Overnight, though, an Instagram account featuring De Wever\u2019s cat trolled Trump with a picture<\/u> of the pet holding a Trump plushy with the thought bubble \u201cI slept so well! You too?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Soccer and \u2018Soft Power\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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The World Cup \u2013 co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States \u2013 has largely been a big success both on the field and off the field, with foreigners discovering<\/u> that the real America is much more than the headlines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the red card row may blunt any gains for the U.S. in terms of \u201csoft power,\u201d the international relations concept of being able to get other countries to do what you want through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Sunday, Alexi Lalas, a former American defender and a lead soccer analyst for Fox Sports, called<\/u> the reversal \u201cgreat news\u201d but said \u201cit\u2019s now (even more so) U.S. vs. world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cAny support, affinity, or benefit of doubt from (the) rest of (the) world just went out the window. Applies to refs too. Bring it on!\u201d Lalas said in typically measured fashion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While he seemed to be referring to on-field play, there\u2019s a non-zero chance that Trump\u2019s involvement in the controversy \u2013 the idea of the U.S. flexing its muscle to get special treatment \u2013 will reinforce the view of America\u2019s critics that we\u2019re more bullies than Buc-ee\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump Marks 1st Trading Day for Trump Accounts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trump’s World Cup intervention could make things awkward at the NATO summit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,65,23,8,134,93],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news-decision-points","tag-donald-trump","tag-nato","tag-politics","tag-sign-in-to-manage-your-newsletters","tag-sports","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nWill the U.S. Get a Red Card at NATO? - Office Moving America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=438\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will the U.S. Get a Red Card at NATO? - Office Moving America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Trump's World Cup intervention could make things awkward at the NATO summit.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/officemovingamerica.com\/?p=438\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Office Moving America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T13:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/953f33efe585ac76cdf8428d434d3061\"},\"headline\":\"Will the U.S. Get a Red Card at NATO?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T13:13:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438\"},\"wordCount\":711,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/28ca2a47c2dcb661a35dbd0d2ae06a0b.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Donald Trump\",\"NATO\",\"politics\",\"Sign in to manage your newsletters \u00bb\",\"sports\",\"World Cup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"U.S. News Decision Points\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438\",\"name\":\"Will the U.S. Get a Red Card at NATO? - Office Moving America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/28ca2a47c2dcb661a35dbd0d2ae06a0b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T13:13:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/953f33efe585ac76cdf8428d434d3061\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/?p=438#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/28ca2a47c2dcb661a35dbd0d2ae06a0b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/officemovingamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/28ca2a47c2dcb661a35dbd0d2ae06a0b.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":733,\"caption\":\"Referee shows a red card to Folarin Balogun 2nd R of the United States during the round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in San Francisco, the United States, July 1, 2026. 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