There is some truth to what you say. Yes, sport is a business. Yes, many football federations are - or at least were - corrupt. Yes, it appears that FIFA would skin a turd for a tanner. Yes, Infantino could (should) have politely told Trump to 'do one'. However, while the Balogun and Ronaldo incidents share some similarities, they are fundamentally different. You state that the Ronaldo incident was "far more serious". How so? Ronaldo was being held by O'Shea and swung his elbows in an attempt to free himself. Was there intent to hit/ injury O'Shea? No. Did O'Shea suffer significant injuries? No. Did Balogun try to injure the Bosnian player? No. Did the Bosnian player suffer significant injury? No. They are the only similarities. If the Portuguese FA's appeal was late then why was it allowed? Can you supply a link showing this and that Ronaldo would have faced no punishment if the appeal had been filed on time? Do I know what goes on behind the scenes at FIFA? Of course not, but neither do you. One thing is pretty clear though. The Portuguese PM did not attempt to influence FIFA. If he had, then this news would have inevitably have found its' way into the press. However, the main difference between the two incidents is that Ronaldo's occurred during WC qualifying when an appeal process was in place i.e it was possible for national federations to formally appeal against red/ yellow cards. Rightly or wrongly, national federations do not have that option in this tournament. Basically, barring a miscarriage of justice - which imo would be effectively limited to a case of mistaken identity - the decision of the referee should be final and any prescribed punishment applied. So are Infantino/ FIFA guilty of anything? Sycophancy? Almost certainly, yes. Hypocrisy? Again, almost certainly yes but not in this instance.
