The game is officially gone - Sepp Blatter calls out FIFA for corruption

Okay, so this isn't anything to do with Newcastle United per se, but everything to do with the state of the modern game.

Also, if you like Donald Trump, you might want to skip this one.

Ever since Gianni Infantino handed Donald Trump the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize to appease his orangeness ahead of this summer's World Cup, we knew that something was off.

What even is a FIFA Peace Prize? Who is FIFA to adjudicate if someone is doing worthy things for the World? It was a token to keep the President onside. Nobody is more susceptible to blatant butt kissing than the supreme tangerine.

One day I will come to you for a favour...

Unfortunately, if you kiss the ring, one day Mr Trump is going to call in a favour, and he's certainly done that.

Folarin Balogun was sent off in the USA's win over Bosnia-Herzegovina for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic. Balogun was shown a straight red card, and while it was a harsh decision, the card stood, and therefore the suspension should also stand.

However, the King of America put in a call to Gianni Infantino to enact Article 27, which allows FIFA to suspend a suspension, meaning Balogun will serve his ban in a year's time and is therefore free to take on Belgium in the quarter-final.

FIFA president Infantino insists that this was a decision made by an independent committee and wasn't a result of the obviously coincidental chat with Lord Trumpington. However, it has, understandably and very rightly, caused a stir in the football world to the point where even Sepp "Corruption is my middle name" Blatter has called it out on X.

"Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls. They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies. If a U.S. President intervenes with the FIFA President — and a player is suddenly cleared before a World Cup knockout match — the question is unavoidable: Quo vadis, FIFA? Football must never become a playground for political power. #FIFA #WorldCup #GianniInfantino #DonaldTrump"

Get your tinfoil hat on

How corrupt do you have to be for Sepp Blatter to call you out? Honestly.

There was an interesting theory I saw online today that suggests that FIFA and Trump are working together to engineer a USA v Argentina final for maximum revenue purposes, with Argentina's Lionel Messi being the face of the MLS since his move to Inter Miami.

They pointed out how the officials of the games that could impact the progression of the two sides have been making odd decisions to try and ensure an easier route to the final.

We're not saying for one second that this is what's happening. It was quite a conspiracy theory in truth, but something is going on at this World Cup. Some of the officiating has been shocking.

Then this 'suspension suspension' is absolutely wild.