Dren Simoni@drensimoni
🌎🌍🌏🏆⚽️ Chasing the Cup: Why I'm boycotting the USA - Belgium match tonight.
The cat is out of the bag: soccer has been one of my greatest passions since I was a child.
I started playing when I was about seven or eight years years old, mostly during school gym classes and after school with friends and neighbourhood kids. I was never the most confident player going forward with the ball, but I loved playing in defence and did a decent job of it.
Around that same age, however, I was diagnosed with asthma. As I got older, it became much worse than it is today. Chasing the ball for long stretches became difficult, and for a while it looked like the game I loved was slipping away from me.
I wasn't prepared to let a medical condition take soccer away completely.
If there's one thing I've always relied on in life, it's creativity. So I found another way to be part of the game. I became the referee.
No one else wanted the job, and I quickly realized it suited me well. I didn't have to run as much, I stayed at the centre of the action, and I had the responsibility of keeping the game fair. For several years, I took every opportunity I could to referee local amateur matches until my asthma improved enough for me to return to playing.
Looking back, refereeing taught me lessons that have stayed with me ever since. You learn to make decisions in seconds, settle disputes, stay calm under pressure, communicate with very different personalities, and accept that not everyone will agree with you. It builds confidence, resilience, and leadership.
I also remember being a fairly strict referee. That's part of the job. In soccer, both teams usually end up unhappy with at least some of your decisions. But if they believe you're being fair, they respect your calls and the game moves on.
One thing I rarely handed out was a red card.
A yellow card is a warning. A red card sends a player off immediately and forces their team to play with one fewer player for the rest of the match. In the World Cup, it also normally means the player is suspended for the following match. No referee shows a red card lightly because it can completely change the outcome of a game.
And that brings me to the biggest controversy of this FIFA World Cup, involving Folarin "Flo" Balogun, U.S. 🇺🇸 President Donald Trump, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn, New York 🇺🇸, to Nigerian 🇳🇬 parents and raised in London 🇬🇧, plays as a striker (or centre forward) for the United States men's national soccer team.
Following Balogun's red card against Bosnia-Herzegovina 🇧🇦 in the Round of 32 match last week, Trump personally contacted FIFA President Infantino and asked FIFA to review Balogun's suspension so he could play tonight against Belgium 🇧🇪.
Balogun had been sent off after a VAR review determined he had stepped on Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemović's ankle. Video Assistant Referee or VAR is a technology-assisted officiating system in soccer that helps on-field referees correct clear errors in key game-changing moments. The decision itself was debated by many fans and analysts, which is perfectly normal in soccer. Referees make difficult decisions every week, and people will always disagree.
What is not normal is political intervention.
Rather than overturning the red card itself, FIFA suspended Balogun's one-match ban and allowed him to play against Belgium tonight, while leaving the red card on his record. It was an extraordinary decision that immediately drew criticism from soccer associations, coaches, officials, and former players around the world. Even former FIFA President Sepp Blatter questioned the decision, arguing that disciplinary rulings should be based on the rules - not political influence.
Whether people agreed with the original red card is almost beside the point.
The issue is the process.
If a referee's decision, confirmed through VAR and FIFA's own disciplinary system, can suddenly be changed after a phone call from the President of one of the competing countries, then confidence in the competition itself begins to erode.
Trump, who these days is an expert in just about anything, defended his intervention by calling the red card a "horrible" decision and suggested Team USA deserved to have one of its best players available. He also questioned the integrity of Brazilian 🇧🇷 referee Raphael Claus without providing evidence and argued that failing to reverse the suspension would have made the match appear "rigged" against the U.S. The logic just doesn't add up. But then again, what else is new!?
Instead, ironically, that argument creates the very perception of unfairness it claims to prevent.
For his part, the increasingly discredited Infantino, whose days as FIFA President are hopefully numbered, acknowledged speaking with Trump but insisted that FIFA's judicial bodies acted independently. Whether people believe that explanation is another matter. The fact that the conversation happened at all has raised serious questions about FIFA's independence and its willingness to resist political pressure.
For me, though, there is an even greater disappointment.
Balogun could have declined the special treatment.
He could have said that while he appreciated the support, he would respect the suspension and allow the rules to take their course. That decision would have earned him something far more valuable than playing one extra match: the respect of supporters around the world.
Instead, he accepted the ruling.
Perhaps many players would have done the same. I understand that. Every athlete dreams of playing in the World Cup knockout stage. But sometimes the biggest victories happen off the field.
So tonight, I'll be doing something I've never imagined doing during a World Cup.
An American friend is visiting from Washington, D.C., and instead of gathering around the television, we'll be enjoying dinner together with the TV switched off, choosing to miss a high-stakes match in protest. I even managed to find some Belgian-made Leffe Blonde at my local liquor store. I'll raise a glass to Belgium instead. 🍻
This isn't really a protest against Donald Trump. By now, few people are surprised when he attempts to influence institutions for political or personal advantage.
Nor is it only about Gianni Infantino, whose leadership has repeatedly raised questions about FIFA's independence.
It's about defending the principle that the rules should apply equally to everyone.
Sport only works when players, referees, coaches, and fans believe the same rules apply regardless of status or political influence. Once that belief disappears, the game itself loses something far more important than a single match.
For that reason, I'll be sitting this one out.
My heart goes out to Team USA - except for Balogun - because Trump's intervention has left many supporters around the world rooting against them tonight.
And for those who will be watching...
Go Belgium! 🇧🇪⚽️
📽️‼️ @atrupar : "Trump on Balogun: "I saw the play, and I'm a person that loves sports ... that wasn't a foul. That wasn't even an infraction ... this referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. He made a call that nobody could believe ... he's our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant ... yes, I asked for a review by FIFA." (July 6, 2026): x.com/atrupar/status…
📽️⚽️ TSN_Sports: "After a VAR review Folarin Balogun has been SENT OFF! Do you agree with the call?" (July 1, 2026): x.com/TSN_Sports/sta…
📸⚽️ A picture that tells a story. Folarin Balogun and Tarik Muharemović in a moment that shows the fine line between intensity and recklessness in soccer. Respect the battle. Respect the opponent.
📸🗺️ @TrollFootball : "The world today after Balogun's red card was rescinded." (July 6, 2026): x.com/TrollFootball/…
#FIFAWorldCup #UnitedStates #Balogun
