Just Another Day at the FIFA Office

A day without the World Cup. And without the roar of the ball, the spectacular goals, or the celebrations, the negative echoes even louder, spreading through the air. Today, after a lackluster Balogun, crushed by the burden of injustice placed upon him, was eliminated—and with him, all the inflated hopes fueled by Mauricio Pochettino—we are still shocked and critical of the White House's interference.

The Argentine coach likely faced his share of criticism too. Was it karma for accepting something so profoundly wrong, throwing himself completely off balance? How many might have switched allegiances to the Belgian side upon seeing the coach attempt to circumvent sportsmanship, molding its form to suit his own interests?

While the main actor often changes, the one unequivocally on the wrong side of interference, the one who condones it, does not. That's FIFA. And even if it sees itself as a star, failing to realize it's becoming a supernova, it's merely a celestial body within another, with its own, far more pliable and circumventable laws. Laws created for self-interest, not the greater good. This is how referee dinners with Mussolini were promoted in 1934, how 'Mane' Garrincha, despite being suspended, played in the 1962 final, how the African boycott in 1966 ultimately secured a direct spot for an African team, and how the 6-0 victory of Argentina over a strong Peru, a result that eliminated Brazil from the 1978 final, was merely questioned, not scrutinized.

Then came the choices of Russia and Qatar, where, in the latter case, they even forced a rescheduling of the event because the heat wasn't deemed a sufficient argument to prevent games, imagine, right next to the desert. Only money, oil, and commercial agreements mattered. What shocks the planet today—and because it's Trump, it shocks even more, with that image of impunity that associates and amplifies every barbarity from his mouth—is just another day at the office for the organization. For far too long, even with all the corruption accusations that have always shaken the foundations of the game, it has lost its common sense.