The EU has condemned FIFA for suspending a one-match ban imposed on top US striker Folarin Balogun following an unprecedented intervention by US President Donald Trump.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Trump confirmed that he asked the global football governing body to review a referee’s decision to issue a red card to Balogun during the US team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. The red card automatically disqualified Balogun from the next match in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico.

“As a fan, I too believe it was the wrong decision,” European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef wrote on X, adding that decisions on these matters “belong to sporting bodies, not politicians.”

European Commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova called for “fair play and transparent competition.”European football governing body UEFA released a strongly worded statement, saying the swift reversal of Balogun’s red card “crossed a red line.”

“We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,”UEFA said.

Trump defended his intervention, arguing that Balogun “didn’t do anything wrong” and describing the red card as “very unfair.”

“I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,”Trump said. “I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, would be different.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino also defended the handling of Balogun’s case, insisting that the organization’s judicial bodies are independent.

According to media reports, Infantino has cultivated close ties with Trump. FIFA recently created and awarded its Peace Prize to the US president following his unsuccessful campaign to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump reportedly called Infantino to push for Balogun’s suspension to be revoked.

Good fortune did not help the US team, however, as it lost 4-1 to Belgium on Monday and was eliminated from the tournament. Shortly after the victory, the Belgian team’s official X account posted: “Overturn this.”

https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/642655-eu-trump-red-card-condemns/

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An online feud between France captain Kylian Mbappe and Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla has escalated into threats of legal action after the French footballer called the lawmaker a “despicable woman” in response to what he described as racist remarks.

The dispute began on Saturday after France beat Paraguay 1-0 in the World Cup round of 16, with Mbappe converting the winning penalty. Amarilla accused the French captain of disrespecting Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill by refusing to shake his hand at the final whistle.

In a now-deleted post on X, the senator called Mbappe an “arrogant and ugly Cameroonian pretending to be French” and said she regretted that no Paraguayan player had slapped him after the match.

Amarilla also mocked the striker, claiming he had “never even learned to write,” had “sucked on coconuts instead of his mother’s milk,” and that “the most educated voices he ever heard were chimpanzees.”

Mbappe responded on Monday, accusing Amarilla of tarnishing Paraguay’s image through “recklessness and brazen racism.”

“You are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition,” he wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron also took to X to voice his support for Mbappe, hailing “one more goal for Kylian Mbappe. This time against racism.”

Later in the day, the French Football Federation condemned Amarilla’s comments as “utterly abhorrent and unacceptable,” saying it had referred the matter to prosecutors for possible legal action.

On Tuesday, Amarilla posted an open letter to Mbappe, saying she deleted her original posts after realizing she had responded “with the same insults” she condemns. She nevertheless demanded that the French star retract his remarks and apologize, accusing him of gender-based political violence and threatening legal action.

In her letter, Amarilla also took issue with Mbappe’s post-match comments, in which he said France was ready to “get our hands dirty in the shit” to win the physical battle against Paraguay. She said she interpreted the remark as an insult to the Paraguayan team and the country.

The Paraguayan Foreign Ministry has distanced itself from Amarilla’s remarks, saying they were regrettable and “in no way reflect the position of the government of Paraguay or the Paraguayan people.”

Before their defeat by France, Paraguay had enjoyed a historic World Cup run, including a shock win over Germany in the first knockout round that led President Santiago Pena to declare a national holiday.

https://www.rt.com/news/642665-kylian-mbappe-paraguay-racist-clash/

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SEE ALSO: Failed dreams of building 'New Australia' utopia in Paraguay jungle in 19th century

Would you give it all up for a new life in a tropical utopia?

That's what more than 500 Australians did in the 1890s, led by a radical socialist, but the venture didn't quite go to plan. 

It turns out that combining Australian shearers with the South American jungle, jaguars, parasitic insects and strict rules about booze and sex was not the secret to a utopian new life.

The little-known misadventure of founding a New Australia commune still fascinates historians such as Argentinian-born researcher Arthur Edwards.

"It was bound to fail. You can't convert a group of hard-working, rowdy shearers into Christian teetotallers, it's just against the Aussie spirit." 

READ MORE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-27/history-of-failed-attempt-to-build-new-australia-in-paraguay/101590946

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

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