rainy day 🇪🇺 💙💛 📯🍁

And I know when it rains, oh, it pours. Happiness on a rainy day.

[CNN @CNN]

The 55 members making up European soccer governing body UEFA unanimously voted in support of a boycott of future men’s and women’s World Cups in reaction to global soccer governing body FIFA’s plan to inject private money into its competitions. https://t.co/gM7tf18o57

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

Europe just quit the World Cup. UEFA and all 55 of its national associations announced they will not participate in FIFA competitions. No France, no England, no Spain, no Germany in the biggest tournament on earth.

The trigger is wild. Infantino wants to sell a piece of the World Cup to private investors for $4.2 billion. And each of the 211 national associations gets $20 million for voting yes.

211 times $20 million is $4.2 billion. The entire raise equals the approval payments. The investors would be funding the yes votes on their own acquisition.

Infantino thought the voting math made him unbeatable. FIFA runs on one country, one vote, so San Marino counts the same as Germany, and $86 million per federation through 2038 is transformative for small associations that have never qualified for a World Cup. He needs 106 of 211 votes, and he was buying them at retail.

UEFA just found the counter. Europe can't win the vote, so it's destroying the asset instead. European teams have won 12 of the 22 World Cups ever played. European broadcast money anchors the rights being sold. A World Cup without Europe is worth a fraction of the price, and every investor Kushner and JP Morgan are courting knows it by now.

The F1 comparison everyone's making misses the difference. Greg Maffei, who ran Liberty Media's Formula 1 takeover, is structuring this deal, but F1 privatization worked because the teams had nowhere else to race. UEFA already runs the Champions League and the Euros. Europe can exist without FIFA. FIFA cannot exist without Europe.

The vote is September 19. Infantino has the votes. UEFA has the teams. Only one of those makes a World Cup worth watching.

[UEFA @UEFA]

Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National AssociationStatement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 National Associations

[Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom]

Trump is subpoenaing journalists for exposing his Qatari plane scandal— his Air Fraud One — a private jet he’s spent hundreds of millions of YOUR tax dollars on.

He is the most corrupt president in American history!

[Belgian Players 🇧🇪 @BelgianPlayers]

BSJSKSOSOAOZOS GOAAAAAAAAL LUKAKU IL EST LÉGENDAIRE (90’+)

🇺🇸 USA 1 - 4 BEL 🇧🇪

#USABEL

[🐽 @VMeylando]

LUKAKU
USA 1-4 BELGIA

[rainy day 🇪🇺 💙💛 📯🍁 @nopnull]

@GregWilliamsAZ Loser

[Sascha Karowski @skarowski]

Hab ein wenig die Befürchtung, sollte Belgien die USA aus dem Turnier werfen, dass Trump dann Deutschland mit Sanktionen bestraft, weil er zu dämlich ist, die Flaggen auseinanderzuhalten.

[Terrible Maps @TerribleMaps]

Who everyone is supporting in today’s USA vs Belgium match

[Bosnian Football @BosniaNTBall]

If FIFA want to stay consistent with their statutes, suspension of the United States Federation and team from the World Cup for political interference should follow! #FIFAWorldCup

[Alonso Gurmendi @Alonso_GD]

Sorry, this should disqualify the US from the tournament.

[Football on TNT Sports @footballontnt]

List of players to have their red cards overturned (or suspended) at the World Cup, since the card was introduced in 1970:

🇺🇸 Florian Balogun

End of list.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

🚨BREAKING: Sen. Ted Cruz just thanked Trump for intervening with FIFA to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card.

Political interference is a violation of FIFA’s statutes and carries serious consequences including permanent EXPULSION from FIFA competitions.

[Jan Soldaat @SoldaatABL]

BEL - USA 😌

#trumpmakesussick

[Jack D 🏳️‍🌈 @JackDunc1]

FIFA's own rules dictate that if a government tries to intervene in a disciplinary matter - that team is disqualified. Not happening to the USA though, despite trump making that phone call. Wonder why. 🤔

Fuck Trump. Fuck Infantino.

[Morgan J. Freeman @mjfree]

Goodnight 🌙

Fuck these corrupt cheating assholes.

And fuck @FIFAWorldCup

[Marcel @realmarcel1]

La FIFA traque partout les images de la faute de Balogun
On va remettre ça en HD, ce serait dommage de s’en priver

[Julian Röpcke 🇩🇪🤝🇺🇦 @JulianRoepcke]

Bei aller Liebe, aber diese WM ist doch zu Ende. In dem Moment, wo ein Staatschef auf den ausführenden Verband eines Turniers einwirkt, um rote Karten rückgängig zu machen, ist das Spiel doch einfach im Eimer. Trump zerstört alles, was er berührt …