Unwelcome and undue: Trump’s red-card intervention hurts the US’s World Cup more than it helps

In pushing Fifa to reverse Folarin Balogun’s suspension, the president did the most American thing possible: assert unasked-for power to get his way

INTERFERENCE: US President Donald Trump. Pic: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

THE story of Garrincha’s red card in the 1962 World Cup is the stuff of legend. The Brazilian great was sent off in the semi-finals for lashing out at an opponent, but back then, Fifa had no automatic one-match suspension in place. So a disciplinary committee convened the next day to decide his fate for the final.

As the story goes, the assistant referee who had the best view of the offenCe was paid off and disappeared, and the president of Chile, the tournament’s host, put in a call to Fifa, urging them to decide against any additional suspension. He did so for the sake of keeping one of the tournament’s most entertaining players on the field. Garrincha emerged scot-free, and Brazil won their second World Cup days later.