FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen U.S. government & soccer officials:
- Wednesday after U.S.-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup and regularly before that.)
- Wed night: Giuliani, Lutnick and U.S. Soccer officials began activating on plans to challenge red card
- That kicked off 4 days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering & diplomacy that stretched from Oval Office to Zurich
- On *Thursday* Trump dialed Gianni Infantino and asked abt FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and grounds for suspension. (They’ve known each other for 8 yrs.)
- FIFA declined to confirm any specific discussions but reiterated to POLITICO that the decision to suspend the one-match ban was made by an independent disciplinary committee.
- As U.S. Soccer’s legal team formally prepared & submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani + Lutnick offered to make White House attorneys available to assist
- At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin — a hedge-fund manager who had helped pay the salary of Mauricio Pochettino — zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus
-Articles examining previous controversies involving Claus circulated among senior gov officials as they evaluated every argument that could bolster the appeal
- On FIFA side, Emilio García, who oversees the legal affairs of FIFA, advised Infantino on the available procedural options
- García + other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited
- By Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension would be suspended
- FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.
https://t.co/eXOOUkza6N
It’s ultimately on spineless Infantino. Trump is gonna Trump and do whatever he can to find a rare World Cup dub and make it about himself. Ultimately FIFA has the power here. This happened because Gianni wanted it to happen. It’s both fortunate and unfortunate for Balogun
There are at least two reason they might not want to update us on McConnell’s condition:
-In Kentucky, a special election to replace a Senator will NOT be called if it’s closer than 3 months till the next election.
-That date is August 3rd.
1) If McConnell’s condition is clearly unfit for office, they’d hide that to avoid being forced to submit a resignation letter until after that date.
2) If McConnell has not regained consciousness or has the chance of oxygen induced brain death and is on artificial life support, they would try and
-In Kentucky “brain death” is legally considered death under Kentucky Revised Statute § 446.400
-Any two independent physicians may declare the patient dead for the purposes of the seat being vacated IF the patient is only “alive” due to a ventilator and artificial life support systems.
But, his next of kin (Chao) would need to be involved in the process of treatment and testing and final decisions to end support for that path to be viable…
She left to China 3 days after his hospitalization.
So is McConnell alive and well? Is he awake and functional? Is he a vegetable?
Either way I think they are trying to make sure we don’t have the answer to that until August 3rd.
BABY LUCA HAS ARRIVED!! Unfortunately there were complications with the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck, so a C-section ended up being the safest option for both of them.
My woman is the strongest person I know. She has now endured two C-sections to bring our babies out into this world. Her strength, resilience, and calmness through it all are things I will truly never understand.
They’re both healthy and this time around has honestly been much better for her in terms of pain, recovery, and the overall experience❤️
On behalf of both of us, thank you for all of the kind messages, prayers, and positive energy sent our way. We have an army of the most kind, selfless, and genuine people supporting us and we feel it. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!
P.S. His nickname is Luca Bazooka and our daughter has been calling him that exclusively😂
We have a good chance for aurora tonight ✨ remember it doesn't get dark enough to see them at our latitude until around midnight😎
photo; auroral substorm and passing freighter - Marquette County MI
PSA: You miss 100% of chances you don't take. And it's getting late in the solar cycle, we will see solar minimum conditions soon. There is about as much time from now until solar minimum as from the first big storms of SC25 until now. And we will likely see the final significant storms a few years before the solar minimum. Plus, there is no guarantee SC26 will be a big one or even only as big as SC25 is. It could turn out to be as weak as SC24 or perhaps even weaker. Make every chance count :)
Outside of LeBron James wanting to live in Los Angeles and Nico Harrison giving him the most absurd trade offer in NBA history, it's been a pretty tough run with the Lakers for Rob Pelinka.