@lxeagle17 Doesn't this coming out now give us the chance for him to drop out and be replaced? If it had come out in two weeks, it would be worse.
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Joey Feldmann
9K posts
Unless Democrats manage to pull off a Hail Mary candidate swap (to be fair, they've done that in the past...), Maine Senate stands as a likely loss.
Credible allegations of sexual assault are a huge and pretty obvious driver of electoral underperformance. politico.com/news/2026/07/0…
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@HabCorpLinguist @Bwilly90 Yes, because McConnell stalling one appointment for a year a passing another in two months was because of how deeply unpoltical the GOP around the Supreme Court.
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@Bwilly90 They shouldn’t be, but unfortunately the Democrat Party is opposed to the Constitution and to judges who will apply its text faithfully.
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Looks like we’re not getting a SCOTUS retirement this year. Gotta hold the Senate.
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@Godverdoemeseg @ckieser13 I mean, all the reporting says they did. That whatever Trump did was in ADDITION to the appeal they were already working on.
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@ckieser13 The American soccer federation didn't even bother to appeal the card because under FIFA rules there was no chance for this card to be revoked/suspended.
Clear political interference from Trump to get FIFA to ignore their own rules.
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The end result (Balogun eligible to play) is a just result. But process matters and FIFA's process was just a terrible look for them.
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@LUFCFan01 @rcb05 Feels to like FIFA is going out of its way to say the red card eas wrong without having to say those actual words (and admit the refs made a mistake).
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You can dislike the US going through FIFA back channels to rescind a red card suspension, but the bigger affront to fair play is that FIFA didn’t have an established appeals process to go through in the first place.
Any time a referee’s judgment call leads to a suspension beyond the game he officiated, it should be subject to review from the governing body (see technical fouls in the NBA, targeting penalties in college football, etc.). Refs have full autonomy within the game they officiate, but as soon as those decisions have implications beyond that individual game’s result, the ability to review/override those decisions should absolutely be coded into the rules.
Do I love that this is being legislated mid-tournament? No. But play stupid games, win stupid prizes. #BTHObelgium
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@zeezytaughtmii @JamesSurowiecki Ah. Tradition I guess? I think the idea is that red cards are supposed to be a deterrent from truly egregious play. Hence the harsh punishment.
Seems to me the middle ground ought to be an appeal possible for the next game.
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@jaysncards @JamesSurowiecki Yes I understand that's the rule that's why I said it? I'm asking why there's not a middle ground between getting thrown out of the current game and getting thrown out of both games.
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Set the question of Balogun's match ban aside. FIFA should, after this tournament, change its rules so that match bans are appealable. It's fine to accept that stupid decisions by a referee are a necessary part of the game he's refereeing. It makes no sense to let a ref's stupid decision go on to dramatically affect the next game as well.
John Færseth@JohnFaerseth
It is irrelevant whether Balogun deserved a red card. Referees make stupid decisions all the time. If personal diplomacy and power can override decisions and the USA wins, it means outcomes are being decided off the field. That's match-fixing, and the end of sports.
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@bpjauburn @NFLosophy This is what I am seeing on this site and I admit it is baffling to me. If there was evidence of ref cheating (not saying there is) would they want to let corrupt punishment stand? If so, wow. If not, then the only question is the line, not the action.
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@NFLosophy This. European mentality is that even if the result was egregiously bad you must accept it no matter what. Fundamental difference between that and American mentality that is to get it right.
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Let me explain to the angry Europeans in my mentions this morning:
We, as Americans, don’t feel Balogun should have been suspended in the first place. And while we (most of us, at least) don’t support corruption, one thing we do believe in is justice. So we support the outcome.
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@henrywinter I mean, France should definitely get that yellow card back. Ridiculous that there isn't a way to do it since the French didn't even touch him.
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Thomas Tuchel makes strong points on Folarin Balogun’s reprieve. “To be clear it was not a red card. VAR got involved. The decision is made. Who overturns this decision and when and on what grounds? It’s strange for me. We want consistency. I think it is not a yellow card, Declan Rice. Does France get the yellow card back for (Michael) Olise which was not a yellow card. Where does this start and where does this end? Do we appeal (Jarell Quansah red)?” Should Harry Kane ask President Trump? “Maybe!” Tuchel smiled.
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@ArthurBoreman I mean, Trump says a lot of things with limited connection to the truth
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Europeans: “I can’t believe Trump interfered with the World Cup”
Americans: “I’m not sure he actually did”
Europeans: “He says he did! He openly talks about how he got the red card overturned”
Americans: “That’s right…”
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@N12tweet @huskersjames FIFA should be transparent. But this very much looks like them overturning the red card using different language.
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@huskersjames Haha. Ok)
Just a reminder - FIFA did not overturn the red card, they just chose not to apply next game suspension within the same tournament for the first time in 60+ years. Enjoy your cheating ;)
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Here is the initial TV view of the Balogun red card.
One could easily make an argument that the Bosnian player should have been called for a foul.
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Joey Feldmann retweetledi
The UEFA and Belgian hyperbole here is insane.
I am not defending FIFA. The process should be more transparent, especially if outside political pressure was involved.
But the idea that U.S. Soccer or the USMNT violated fair play by advocating for Balogun after a controversial call is absurd.
Every federation protects its players when it thinks a decision is wrong. Belgium is literally doing that right now.
The issue is not that the U.S. asked.
The issue is whether FIFA has a consistent and transparent process.
If FIFA has a rule that lets them suspend the enforcement of a punishment, then explain why it applies here and why it will apply the same way next time.
That is a fair criticism.
But the pearl clutching that only starts when a non European country benefits from the gray area is hard to take seriously.
Duplicitous whiners.
UEFA@UEFA
UEFA statement on the Balogun case: ⬇️ uefa.com/news-media/new…
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@zeezytaughtmii @JamesSurowiecki That is the rule as it currently stands.
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@JamesSurowiecki I may be missing something but why does a red card automatically ban someone for the next game? Surely there's a middle ground between "he's out for the rest of this game" and "he needs to be out for this game and the next game."
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@Johnrhymer5 @markvalorian There was no moment to back off. He was knocked into that awkward position from behind and the "foul" occurred as he was trying to land from being knocked down. How was he supposed to back off?
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@markvalorian Does not matter at all. Law 12 is clear it was a reckless play. You cant spin this the way you think you can. Once he was in an unusual position he should have backed off. It doesnt matter if it was a challenge or not. He was off balance and stepped on another player
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A critical element that the "rulebook purists" arguing Balogun deserved a red card are conveniently overlooking:
BALOGUN was the one who was challenged from behind.
The Bosnian player played *through* Balogun from behind and placed himself in the path of Balogun's natural step.
When he begins taking that step, Balogun has no idea the Bosnian player would even be in front of him. In that sense, you can't really even consider his move a "challenge." It was simply a step that incidentally landed in the same place the opponent's foot did.
In fact, the reason Balogun's step came down so hard is *because* the Bosnian player challenged into him and knocked him off balance.
This is not "reckless" or "excessive force" by any stretch of the imagination.
The red card was *obviously* unjustified from the outset. The only thing FIFA got wrong here is not immediately suspending the red card after the match.
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@Pat_Stedman Our second two breast fed well. I would get up and change them, give them my wife and sleep while she fed, then get back up to get them down so she could start getting to sleep.
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I am far less extreme than many of you on here in that I have no problem taking turns when a baby has colic or a kid has outgrown nightttime breastfeeding
But this modern notion that a dad should handle a newborn at night like he is a mother is retarded. It makes no sense biologically and I have personally witnessed countless marriages collapse into discord because of it.
I'd rather my wife wake me up early so she can get more sleep when the baby is rested than pretend I can do as well of a job getting it down as her
Jake Kozloski 🇺🇸@jakozloski
Night shifts and rotating shifts, especially for fathers of young kids, are associated with dramatically higher odds of separation. It's one of the larger effects in family literature. Fellas, try to at least get a stable day job if you want a family.
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@NickB1016 @jonmorosi Sort of think the correct equivalent to your analogy would be a yellow card, which everyone thinks would have been appropriate. As others have said, the red card equivalent would be ejection, which would NOT happen on your example.
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@jonmorosi Question for you… if a pitcher throws a fastball that accidentally goes a little wild and hits the batter, does the batter still get to go to first base? Or if the pitcher says it was an accident does the foul not count?…
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Question for the soccer officials among you:
Was that a warranted red card?
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@4dannyboy @jessesingal Saying that offside ends once the ball is in the box does not end offside.
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@jessesingal Have you thought about what would happen if there was no offside law?
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Not a soccer guy but it does feel intuitively wrong that if the offensive side get the ball into the box with a genius series of passes or a great cross, all onside, and then there's a chaotic sequence of blocked shots or rebounds or whatever, a goal can be undone by half a foot.
Nick Harris@NickHarrisFWST
My only big gripe with this sport: If the ball is in the box, there should be no offside. You should have to defend the box, period. The fact that this is offside is soooo ridiculous.
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Joey Feldmann retweetledi
It never ceases to amaze me that it’s so hard to people to say
- Oct 7 was an unjustifiable attack against civilians and a crime against humanity
- Israel’s far-right gov used the attack to perpetuate a genocide in Gaza and other Palestinian lands
BOTH of these things are true
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@dilanesper I think this team has the potential to win 2 games in the knock out rounds. And that would be good.
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2 contradictory observations:
1. This game didn't matter. Which means it doesn't matter that the US lost.
2. The US men's team will of course get knocked out as soon as it faces a top team in the elimination rounds, just like always.
Kyle Smith@rkylesmith
Giving up 3 to Turkey at home seems like an indication of a not-great squad
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@nobodyafrn1 @Brien_Jackson What actions other than "not voting for the black lady" are you talking about?
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@Brien_Jackson Oh they will blame the electorate no doubt. But certain things need to happen. And this needs too. Im not advocating for dems losing but we cant embolden talrico's supporters and thier actions
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A lot of people are not going to like the ramifications if Talarico narrowly loses the race because of low black turnout or defections.
Domo Julio@DapperDomo
Hi Black Texas voting rights organizer here. It’s not online, I talk to Black voters every day in the second largest city in the state and he is doing horrible. Saying it’s terminally online is a spit in the face, anti black, and why he is not going to turnout Black voters.
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Joey Feldmann retweetledi
Senator Tillis called Congress a "board of directors" yesterday, and I have long thought that's the best way to think about the legislature in our separation of power system.
blog.mattglassman.net/congress-as-bo…
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