The 2026 FIFA World Cup was marred by a plethora of controversial decisions, poor planning, and external influence. One such headliner was the reversal of Folarin Balogun’s red card, which allowed the USMNT star to feature in his country’s Round of 16 tie against Belgium.
Bayern Munich supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß has always been vocal about everything. Once he has his scope trained on you, good luck. And that is precisely what happened in a recent interview where Uli unleashed a barrage of
criticism on FIFA and President Gianni Infantino.
When asked about the Balogun affair at the World Cup, Uli did not hold anything back. “Mr. Infantino has made some mistakes during his time in football, but that was one of his biggest.”
Oof, already off to a scorching start.
There hasn’t been a single World Cup with Infantino in charge that hasn’t been marred by controversy, and Uli is calling a spade a spade here. He continued, “If you allow a man like Donald Trump to decide or influence whether a player is suspended or not, that is the beginning of the end of the competition.” Amen.
There isn’t room for politics in football, and Uli has made his stance crystal clear. “If we accept something like that, then it is no longer my sport. For me, that was simply unacceptable,” concluded Uli. The Bayern Munich exec has a point… the World Cup has become a marketing gimmick, influenced heavily by off-field drama and controversy, egregious refereeing, blatant favouritism, and virtue signalling.
International football seems to be moving away from football fans.
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