US Soccer chief claims Donald Trump has left ‘moral stain’ on World Cup along with Gianni Infantino in furious attack
THE US Soccer Federation is not thrilled with Donald Trump’s involvement in the World Cup.
Trump helped get Folarin Balogun’s red card overturned for the Round of 16, but the vice-president of US Soccer has labeled the president as a “moral stain” on the World Cup.
Nathan Goldberg Crenier, the vice-president of US Soccer, delivered a scathing review of Trump in The Guardian.
He wrote that Infantino has been “blessing Trump’s wars in the name of soccer.”
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Trump of course was given the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize by Infantino before he invaded Venezuela and went to war with Iran.
Goldberg Crenier said all of the success of the World Cup comes in spite of Trump and Infantino.
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“While the World Cup will go down as a massive commercial success, no amount of revenue will ever erase the moral stain of blessing Trump’s wars in the name of soccer,” he wrote.
“Yes, it’s important for FIFA to foster a good working relationship with any host country’s government, but Infantino has repeatedly crossed the line between professionalism and groveling.”
Goldberg Crenier also called out Trump and Infantino getting Balogun’s red card overturned, saying it tarnished US Soccer’s reputation.
“When it comes to Trump’s meddling in the Balogun case, the biggest casualty was soccer’s integrity,” he wrote.
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“Sure, in a narrow sense, US Soccer benefitted from having a star player back from suspension. But in a more meaningful sense, US Soccer was also a victim.
“Our players were swept up in a political firestorm before the most important game of their lives, and our biggest chance to showcase American soccer to the world will now forever be tainted by accusations of favoritism at best and corruption at worst, unfairly clouding US Soccer’s credibility and reputation around the world.”
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Balogun agreed that Trump’s intervention put extra strain on the team ahead of their 4-1 loss to Belgium.
“My initial reaction was that I was happy to be back in the team. But when I started to reflect, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy,” he said on CBS Mornings.
“I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it’s something that is so unique.”
Trump will be present at the World Cup final to present the trophy to the winning side.