Casual sports observers often wonder why the sport of Soccer has never been successful in the United States. This story is a big picture example of exactly why.
The country of Belgium is filing an appeal with FIFA World Cup organizers to stop the United States from playing the game of soccer with their best players. You just cannot make this stuff up, folks.
Only in the sport of EU soccer can a bureaucratic agency file a parliamentary objection with the intent to force the official bureaucratic agents of the soccer administration, FIFA, to block a team from fielding their best players – because the business of the bureaucracy is more important than sportsmanship.
SEATTLE (AP) — The Belgian soccer federation is demanding explanation from FIFA about a decision to let U.S forward Folarin Balogun play at the World Cup despite getting a red card in his previous game.
Belgium takes on the United States later Monday for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Belgian federation said it has still not received either “FIFA’s decision or any explanation regarding this matter. In these circumstances, it has no choice but to challenge the player’s eligibility for the upcoming match.” {LINK}
Here comes the really funny part. All the soccer nations continue to be befuddled why soccer has never made progress within the American sport psyche. Think about it.
Soccer is a ‘sport system’ bureaucratically designed to fail when contrast to a brutally honest American perspective on sport.
Soccer succeeding in America is the inverse to Liberty succeeding worldwide.
Soccer is the United Nations of sports.
If soccer is ever to succeed in America, the United States is lost forever!
Folarin Jerry Balogun is a Nigerian anchor baby, mother was pregnant and visiting New York while 7 months pregnant… birth tourism.
Your point is moot if USA keeps winning.
It’s the opposite.
I think it was a bad call… by president Trump. Not only the rest of the world now says the US can only win with the help of the corrupt FIFA, but if this anchor baby scores, this will be used as an example of why the US needs the birthright citizenship.
I heard exactly that point from a professional leftist commentator. The rationale goes: Since this Balogun is a birthright citizen and a top soccer talent, it follows that birthright citizenship is moral, good, and necessary for America.
So, the President of the United States shouldn’t support a US soccer player in a horrific call against him? I just want to make sure I understand your argument.
If. As it turns out, Belgium kicked circles around the US team. So it goes.
The thing itself … whew. Repeatedly-biased ref (not just US, he has a history) uses a controversial method to disqualify a player, which end up involving pressure to review, counter pressure to revoke the review, and … all the suit people wasted their time either way.
I believe she was already British citizen.
Soccer, that is all they have, on the world sports scene.
Here in the USA, football, hockey, baseball, basketball, sport after sport.
Professional and collegiate sports.
The people from the world dream of coming to the USA to be rich and famous.
We have a few world know soccer stars. We have thousands of sports names the world knows.
They wonder why, the world; the USA never took to soccer. Cry baby players flopping like fish on a field. The management is a mob of elites. They look down their noses at US sports. Cry more.
Jealousy.
Go USA.
Hockey..mostly Canadians and Russians
Baseball…most (not all) top playets are Latinos and Japanese
Still got football.
OMG, the best players are Japanese? The one player is Japanese. What is not involved in baseball is blacks.
Socc(he)/her.
I’ll reconsider being interested in soccer when the multitude of near fatal injuries and Providentially granted swift recoveries cease to dominate the game.
I’d rather watch a chicken on a June bug.
Much more entertaining.
Bring in real football.
I am one of those soccer moms who owned a nine passenger chevy wagon that transported boys to soccer tournaments in Northern California. Both of my sons played soccer and trained as junior referees for younger teams. They learned what it feels like to win and lose games. Soccer is a game of skills and strategy so size is not as important as controlling your emotions to see the whole field and make the critical play. For boys ages 8 – 17, if taught correctly, boys learn to respect their coaches, listen to instruction, practice, practice, practice, patience, endurance, learn from your mistakes and never give up. Character is taught not bought. Boys are active and need role models that want the best for them. The coaches were volunteer parents with the same goals. American soccer did not have super stars and corporate sponsors. It was organized by local neighborhoods and parents for neighborhood children. It gave boys and girls a chance to play a sport at a very young age with all the benefits of team play with low overhead. Believe me – it was never boring. These teams played in the rain, ice, wind, on hot days and cold days. Sportsmanship and fair play was honored. Cheer on the USA Team tonight. They deserve our respect.
We’ve all been had by the incomparable PDJT47.
Joy Reid had a podcast guest (yep, she has a podcast) who said they would be rooting AGAINST Team USA so Trump couldn’t exploit the victory.
PDJT47 now has the left openly rooting for Team USA to lose because they hate him so much.
Brilliant.
When Team USA is eliminated, the leftist commentators will say Team USA was victimized by Trump weaponizing it.
I could care less about soccer. And I could especially care less about the NFL due to their anti-American and LGBXYZ crap. Why is anybody still supporting this crap?
How about a true American Sport? It’s called Shooting.
Turn of your TV and do something constructive. Go join a gun club and learn how to shoot better. After all the 2nd Amendment and rifle skills are a truly American sport.
Find a Project Appleseed event if you really want to learn marksmanship skills. They tell a great story called the Three Strikes of the Match during lunch. About April 19, 1775. If you don’t know what happened on that date you really should find out. They are the best. All volunteers who really care about history and marksmanship.
https://appleseedinfo.org/
George Washington (1790): “A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined.”
Could not care less….
Belgium complaining they won’t get an advantage they aren’t entitled to from a call that should not have been made in the first place.
Belgium (home of NATO HQ) was given an Orange Card and a 5% GDP suspension from referee PDJT. That’s what they are all angry about. The soccer thing is just an excuse.
Now I know why I do not care about soccer: nothing but tripping each other up and faking pain.
USA looks like a different team today…
ROFL
Since Sundance posted this, I went to boobtube to watch the incident and the word that came to mind was intent, the man had no intent in what happened, it just happened, you could see a foul being called but not a ‘red card’ suspension for the rest of that game and the next.
And it brings also to mind, soccer is political and religious. The fans are fanatical to the point of worship, the rules seem to be made by a bunch of political bureaucrats.
What does seem to be soccer’s biggest accomplishment acting, they fall down every time they are touched, then they begin the acting, I have a broken ankle my elbow is dislocated my head is hurt but 45 seconds later and they are running down the field at 20 miles an hour as if nothing just happened.
It is a ridiculous game and not to just beat on soccer, but all sports have become ridiculous.
We have our own version of “flopping”, though not as rampant as in soccer: The NBA!
Egpty did this when they had a goal up to try to slow the game for much of the game and such teams should be penalised but not all teams do this. I actually haven’t found this to be prevalent this world cup. If I think how an innocent kid or even player plays and good coach teaches it should not be generalized. Its a fantastic skillful game that is tainted by politics at grass roots at some places and bad calls etc but we can only teach the younger generation to be fair and respectful.
Damm and I was just starting to like watching it. Guess I will have to go back to the excitement of curling.
I respectfully disagree with this article. Soccer is a superb sport and requires great thinking and athletic skills. I have two sons and one plays for fun and for the friendship. The other is geared to compete and is intelligent who can read the game, scan and knows where to pass and whereto be. His touches are just superb and gets noticed by all parents and coaches. He doesn’t get picked for the div1 because of politics at club soccer and everyone comes to watch him. Unfortunately being an Intelligent kid his mind has detected a dead end and now wants to give basketball a go. He is driving me nuts about basketball. But for me the joy of seeing him give it everything s a complete midfielder is immusarable. The sport is amazing but it’s politics that ruins it.
Soccer and EU Headquarters in Belgium, world banking capital and home of Rothchild & Company advisors. I’m not surprised about the political influence.
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It always struck me that soccer’s never taken off here for one simple fact: who wants to watch a game for 90 minutes that can end in a scoreless tie?