In an act of breathtaking entitlement Trump demanded Fifa to lift the one match suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun after a red card foul. What was worse was Gianni Infantino in craven and immoral response giving in and lifting the ban. Uefa, European football’s governing body, said that intervening to effectively cancel a suspension at a tournament “crossed a red line”.
Of the 189 other red cards at the World Cup, only one other time has a player escaped a suspension – in 1962 before automatic bans were in place and the failure to impose a sanction was shrouded in allegations of political interference.
Infantino, 23 March 1970 Brig, Switzerland, is having a bad year with his Solar Arc Saturn (Mars) square his Aries Sun Mercury – and later through the autumn tr Neptune conjunct his Sun as well. Plus a rules-don’t-apply-to-me tr Pluto square his Jupiter exactly now. Which is followed by tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter/Saturn midpoint later which can lead to loss of a job, and worse in a depressed square to his Saturn in 2027/28. The repercussions may toll on.
Infantino’s relationship chart with Trump has tr Neptune square the composite Mars now which suggests a panicked decision and gross mistake which will extend through 2027.
Even UEFA, 15 June 1954, looks shocked through this year and next with tr Neptune square their Jupiter exactly now, repeating later; a discouraged tr Pluto square Saturn this year and more consternation in 2027.
I am not (ahem) a sports fan but there really does come a point when Trump’s fairy godmother gives up in disgust and lets him face the music.
The Trump curse rears its head again in 2026! Last month the Knicks lost a game during their amazing playoff streak when Trump decided to show up (and was roundly booed). Now it’s the soccer team. No wonder many incumbents don’t want his support this fall – it only works within the GOP, but not in the real world.
The only one who ever benefits from
his actions is Trump himself at most, which is likely one reason his ‘support’ for sports teams, or, say, a Reflecting Pool, never amount to much, or fail miserably; it is never in a spirit of altruism, community or love. But most of his supporters still haven’t figured that out.
……there really does come a point where trump’s fairy godmother gives up in disgust and let’s him face the music….. how I love this statement.
What a creative description of karma to be. I so fervently hope.
Thank you Marjorie
@Les This is exactly right. Balagun accepted the call, and the USMT in general tried throughout the World Cup to avoid drama and political controversy; yet the team ended up being overshadowed by DJT’s corruption anyway. Belgium’s by far the better team and their victory was no surprise, but did we really need to watch them celebrate by doing the “Trump dance” (classy!), or hear yet again about the “Trump curse”? As always, DJT made everything worse.
Well, given the US was soundly defeated, there’s some poetic justice in this, especially after American sportscasters and other talking heads spent a whole day derating “crying Europeans”. Really, it never was about that, and it was not just Europeans finding the handling of the things by FIFA a disgrace, I think the whole Football World is fed up with Infantino’s rampant corruption and protagonism.
Re. Infantino’s astrology, I think his actual chart might be a close to the default Midday chart, that tight Sun/Mercury conjunct would explain his rise to FIFA presidency at what would have been a relatively young age at 46. His coming “troubles” would likely be result of UEFA leadership having had enough of him. The next FIFA leadership vote will be in March 2027. I’d expect powerful federations from Europe getting behind a challenger possibly from Africa, given the next World Cup will have Marocco among hosts. Infantino could even withdraw, even if with his personality graving visibility is to be considered as a factor.
On a positive note, while expanding the Cup to 48 teams has produced some snooze fests, and obviously, the time difference is brutal, there have been surprises and heartwarming moments. It’s funny that while we Finns are tired of Norwegians dominating Winter Sports (except ice hockey, and this is another story…), we absolutely love seeing them doing great job here. Erling Haaland might be the most popular athlete here, too, he has the folk hero quality as an confidant, but earnest and goofy person. Unfortunately, no public TOB for him, but Cancer Sun/Pisces Moon are evident from his 6000 kal diet and 13 hours sleep.
A work colleague of mine said calling FIFA corrupt is like saying there’s a fork in the kitchen. But this Infantino-Trump corruption is beyond the pale and I hope it takes Infantino out (would that Trump would go as well). I’m sad for the US team as Trump tainted it as he does everything, but the team wasn’t good enough anyway (I could barely watch). I think the expansion has been great, bringing in teams like Cape Verde who showed so much heart and played so well (and looks to boost their tourism), and the Norway game and Haaland and their rowing fans were delightful. So… back to watching the rest of the matches. It’s been a welcome break from the news.
It will be truly ironic, if a football, sorry ‘soccer’ game is Trump’s tipping point.
I’m not a sports fan, but I think this incident showed once again what a small, even tiny, man Trump is. Former Republican consultant Rick Wilson coined a term that rings true here again: Everything Trump Touches Dies, abbreviated ETTD.
I’m on Team Algae, rooting for their victory in the Battle of the (formerly peaceful and beautiful) Reflecting Pool, of which I have extremely fond remembrance on the Mall in Washington.
And this is what Pluto in Aquarius will eventually overturn. Despot rulership.
We’ve not really ever looked at Trump’s 2nd house Neptune but that points to a confused set of values. He doesn’t really know what he stands for, so he just goes with his feelings. He makes it all up as he goes along rather than living by a defined set of beliefs or principles. Of course it all plays along with other parts of his chart and personality
Or maybe Neptune in the 2nd is how Trump has made money—not paying contractors, stealing from charities and now crypto currency about which he’s issued several executive orders.
Let’s not mention the Trump phones which will never be delivered.
That is what happens when you have power in the wrong hands. One thing I have realised about Trump is that he is very good at using people to achieve anything that he wants, whether it’s corruption, wealth or his dirty work, he does it with exception and always washes his hands, and he often gets away with it while the latter suffers. It is very clear that his relationship with Gianni Infantino is generally corrupt. FIFA has always maintained that no political interference is allowed in sport, but today it is entertaining Trump, they have threatened many countries in the past and others were suspended because of political interference. Sadly Trump’s interference didn’t work this time, Belgium beat USA 4-1 and it was eliminated. Trump himself is a full blown corrupt President the US has seen, it is now reported that when he took office his net worth was around $2.5 billion, but now he is worth $6.5 billion with less than 2 years in office. Some analysts are now suggesting that he might be looting from government coffers, if it is true he is really looting, that will eventually unfold, I won’t be surprised if it is true looking at Trump’s character, he is lier, fraudulent, didn’t pay his taxes for years, and many more scandals.
To be fair, the call on Falogun was controversial and seemed pretextual–although less so than the ridiculously unfair red card on England’s Quansah in yesterday’s England-Mexico game (where the referee almost appeared to be playing for Mexico).
Still, none of it even remotely justifies President Dunning-Kruger putting his stubby hand in. It is, however, on brand for the man who led an insurrection and tried to pressure officials in a number of states to “find” extra votes for him after the 2020 election.
What I’m mystified about is why Infantino would go along with it. After all, the World Cup is now fully launched and has been proceeding with nary a hitch through North America for weeks–too late for DJT to wreck the event, I would think–and Infantino has already been ridiculously obsequious (including awading the Don that fake “medal” last year). Why would Infantino still feel the need to kowtow and appease? It almost makes me wonder if money is involved, somehow. …
Anyway, I’ll still root for the U.S., but like many others, I am once again profoundly ashamed by the Orange Felon’s representation of our country.
It’s really sad as Balogun had gracefully accepted the one game suspension even though he disagreed with the harshness of the call. He said it was important for young kids to understand the right way to handle things even when you think it’s unfair. Then US fans were elated to hear that Balogun could play… until we heard that Trump was involved and of course he ruins everything with his corruption and narcissism. It’s unfair to Balogun and the US team, neither of whom asked for this but of course Trump makes everything about himself and his ugliness. And by the way Balogun is an American by way of birthright citizenship via the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which Trump wanted desperately to overturn.
Belgium will no doubt gain a huge number of global supporters when they face the United States in their next game tomorrow!