Franklin Foer: The U.S. Nat’l Team’s Red Card Controversy Is ‘the Microcosm of the Trump Presidency in General’

EXCERPT:

FOER: “Well, I think this is something that’s very familiar to Americans. We know that Trump has undermined the rule of law in this country, and he’s essentially doing the same thing in this tournament. There’s a set of procedures here, and those procedures have been followed. And whether we like the outcome of a court decision or a red card, when those procedures are followed by the dint of being citizens of a country or being participants in a tournament, we have to accept that decision. And one of the great things about this tournament, one of the marvelous, miraculous things, is that you have small countries like Cape Verde that can go toe to toe with a bigger, much more powerful country like Argentina. And that’s one of the joys of soccer, is that it is an equalizing experience. The World Cup puts everybody on the same plane. But what this decision shows is the way that the powerful countries can accrue advantages by manipulating a corrupt system to their advantage. This is really just kind of a microcosm for the Trump presidency in general.”