Politics

Revenge of the ‘hellhole’: Belgium eyes payback in US World Cup clash

Published

2 hours ago

July 6, 2026

BRUSSELS — When the United States faces Belgium in the World Cup’s round-of-16 match on Monday, the politically messy, self-effacing wannabe middle power will be eyeing revenge.

First, for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s 2016 remark that living in its capital, Brussels, was “like living in a hellhole,” the start of a still-ongoing diatribe about the impact of immigration on the European Union.

And second, for a controversial decision made Sunday night by the FIFA organizers to lift U.S. striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban — freeing him up to play against Belgium — that has sparked outrage in the small Western European country.

“This decision clearly raises many questions,” Belgium’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prévot told POLITICO on Monday. Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever responded ironically and shared an image of his cat on social media that read: “Red card? I’ll play anyway.”

“True strength lies in winning with fair play [and by following all the rules]. That’s what Belgium will do,” Jacqueline Galant, Walloon sports minister from the French-speaking liberal Reformist Movement, said on X.

The White House involvement in lobbying FIFA to scrap the ban also sparked condemnation well beyond Belgian borders.

“Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls,” former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who was himself ousted in a massive corruption scandal that rocked the world football governing body, said on X on Monday. “Football must never become a playground for political power.”

European football federation UEFA said in a statement on Monday the decision “crossed a red line” before blasting, “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”

In some ways, the clash between the U.S. and Belgium reflects a deeper ideological divide.

The European country hosts the headquarters of defense alliance NATO and is a co-founding nation of the EU — multilateral institutions that Trump and his MAGA movement have railed against from the White House.

Belgium is a political labyrinth, made up of several governments sharing control, with a federal government composed of five political parties ranging everywhere from the right wing to center-left. The country prides itself on its ability to forge political compromises. (It also holds the world record for the longest time taken to form a government.)

It is the antithesis of government when viewed from the vantage point of a U.S. president who is expanding executive power, bulldozing over the separation of powers and whose political success is rooted in confrontation and polarization, rather than compromise.

Belgian politics is a system of consensus, with strong checks and balances to keep executive power under control, said Carl Devos, Belgian political scientist at the University of Ghent. “The kind of politics that Trump practices, with so much power concentrated in the hands of one man, is unthinkable” for Belgians.

In international politics, too, “Belgium makes up for its smaller size by promoting diplomacy and rulesetting. And so respecting the rules is crucial for it. What Trump is doing clashes fundamentally with our political culture,” Devos said.Trump’s intervention in the Balogun suspension is only the most recent example of that.

Politics

FIFA’s red-card committee hits back after fury over Trump intrusion

Published

2 minutes ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

FIFA’s disciplinary committee, the body that lifted American striker Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension ahead of Monday’s U.S.-Belgium game, defended its decision in a statement released hours before kickoff in Seattle — but didn’t explain the rationale for making it.

In the 13-paragraph statement, the committee explained the body’s rationale for reconsidering Balogun’s suspension. The review came after President Donald Trump called FIFA chief Gianni Infantino last week to call for the soccer boss to take another look at the decision, after Balogun received a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Said suspension of the implementation was decided considering all of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident and evidence available,” the committee said, referring to the lifting of Balogun’s one-game ban. “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee (as any other FIFA judicial body) is independent as provided by the FIFA Statutes and the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”

The committee also argued that by not overturning Balogun’s red card entirely, but instead merely suspending his one-game ban, it had applied a “much more balanced measure.”

Soccer pundits had widely criticized the referee’s decision to send Balogun off during the last-32 encounter, but commentators, European politicians and soccer officials rounded on the move to let Balogun play against Belgium.

Earlier Monday, UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, said that FIFA’s decision “crossed a red line,” adding that it was “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”

The committee fired back at UEFA in his statement, saying that previous instances of red cards being overturned in football leagues “belonging to UEFA-affiliated member associations” have “never raised concerns about crossing any ‘red line.’”

In the closest historical parallel, Brazilian star Garrincha received a red card in the 1962 World Cup, but had his suspension overturned and played in the final after the president of semifinal opponent Chile, Jorge Alessandri, lobbied FIFA to overturn the ban.

Politics

After Trump intervention, Balogun plays vs. Belgium

Published

32 minutes ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

American forward Folarin Balogun will start tonight for the USMNT against Belgium in the World Cup last-16 knockout match. Balogun was sent off in the previous round against Bosnia and Herzegovina and was due to serve a one-match suspension tonight — before world football governing body FIFA unusually lifted the ban following an effort from Trump administration officials.

Politics

Maine’s Democratic Party leadership calls on Platner to drop out following Blue Light News report

Published

46 minutes ago

July 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The leaders of Maine’s Democratic Party are calling on Senate candidate Graham Platner to withdraw from the race, after POLITICO reported Monday that a woman who he dated said he forced her to have sex with him.

Their call for Platner’s exit is notable, given the state party has the ability to replace him on the ballot, should he choose to drop out before the July 13 deadline outlined in Maine law. Leaders would then need to select his replacement by July 27.

“The Maine Democratic Party leadership stands with women and survivors, and that principle does not bend based on party affiliation,” Chair Charlie Dingman, Vice Chair Imke Schessler and Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a joint statement posted to social media.

Maine Democrats join several prominent party members — including former Platner supporters Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) — in pushing for the progressive oysterman to drop out or condemning his actions after Blue Light News reported new allegations of him sexually assaulting a former partner.

Platner has denied the accusation, saying that the allegations are “troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.” However, he also said on social media that he was “taking the time to reflect” on his candidacy.

Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident, had told Blue Light News that Platner entered her home uninvited five years ago and forced himself on her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him that his actions that night were not consensual.

“We are entrusted with deciding who represents our values and who carries our banner,” Dingman, Schessler and Murphy-Anderson wrote in the Monday statement. “That responsibility requires judgment, leadership, and a willingness to act when circumstances demand it.”

The Maine Democratic leaders said it is their “responsibility to hold every candidate who seeks to represent our state to the highest standard” and that it is imperative the party defeats GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.

“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people,” they wrote. “It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle.”

Other prominent Maine Democrats — including state Senate President Mattie Daughtry — called on Platner to exit.

“Sexual violence has absolutely no place in our society, and it cannot be tolerated from those seeking our highest positions of power,” Daughtry said on X. “To that end, I am calling on Mr. Platner to withdraw his candidacy immediately. Maine deserves a nominee for U.S. Senate with the dignity, judgment, and personal character this seat demands.”