Liverpool banter 7

06 Jul 2026 02:33:21
To chime in to the FIFA corruption issue - the truth is it shouldn’t have come to require someone like Trump even getting involved. It was a stupid path to (in my biased American opinion) the obvious right decision.

The fact that VAR reviewed that and gave a red card (clear and obvious) is laughable.

Not defending FIFA at all - I think it was the right decision made for the wrong reason. And I’ve seen few that agreed it was a red card.

06 Jul 2026 04:27:20
That doesn't matter, TJ, the rules are there and should be obeyed.

You can't have an American politician (and I use that word in its loosest term) having an impact on whether an American player gets a ban; it's about as corrupt as it gets.

It's an absolute disgrace regardless whether it's the correct decision or not.

06 Jul 2026 04:55:12
Honestly, there needs to be an independent investigation into FIFA, because they are second only to the World Boxing Council (WBC) in terms of their corruption.

06 Jul 2026 06:12:30
It sets a dangerous precedent, it's one rule for some and a different rule for others. If the exact same circumstances had happened to Cape Verde, Tunisia etc, nothing would have happened. FIFA are bending the rules to benefit the home nation and are doing it because they are being pressured to by the President.

06 Jul 2026 06:27:40
Does Quansah get his ban suspended for the next 12 months now?
No, it won't be. Double standards because one is the host nations and the leaders of the US and FIFA are as corrupt as they come.

06 Jul 2026 07:00:41
I'm sorry to my American friends. But, I wasn't too into Internationals anymore. This World Cup in the States has sealed that. I have never seen football turned into such a farce (my opinion). They've taken everything about football and turned it into a show rather than a sports match (again, my opinion).

I'm starting to worry that the game I love so much is getting damaged on every stage it gets played on.
I'm just waiting for the guy to say it was the best tournament ever held in the entire galaxy.

06 Jul 2026 08:15:34
If there was any credibility left, they would throw the USA out just for Trump picking up the phone.

The idea that it is even tolerated is insane.

Belgium should refuse to play - just for the sheer embarrassment it would cause FIFA and Infantino.

06 Jul 2026 08:28:39
Isn't there a FIFA law that says if politicians get involved in footballing matters, then the country can be banned from FIFA competitions?

{Ed025's Note - if theres not then there should be JLC..

06 Jul 2026 09:01:11
Sports washing at its finest.

06 Jul 2026 10:21:36
You guys should really relax. It wasn't even close to being a red card. This is just stupid. Quansah's tackle was a red all day, so there is the difference!

06 Jul 2026 10:16:44
All trump had to do was tell infantino if u don't suspend balugon ban ill instruct the fbi to re investigate fifa corruption including infantino himself

06 Jul 2026 11:05:01
No Arne, nobody should be "relaxing" about this.

Any direct political involvement in sporting matters should not be tolerated or allowed in any way, shape, or form. Especially when it comes to overturning decisions you don't agree with.

06 Jul 2026 10:58:24
It doesn't matter if you don't think it was a red card. The VAR and then the referee thought it was a red card. They are officiating the game, not the President of the US.
You can't play the Orange card because you don't like the red card.
Perhaps the Belgium squad should storm the White House if they don't like the result.

06 Jul 2026 11:32:19
Guys, the fact that Infantino even took the call from Dump and tried to engineer this nonsense, should tell you how deep Infantino is in the Dumpster's pockets.

N btw, Dump does this all the time. He makes calls to people randomly who are in positions of power with the the U.S structure for favors esp. when it interests him. He got impeached in 2019 for doing something exactly like this and has never stopped because his ego is taht humongous.

Also, anyone telling the rest of us to relax needs to go take a day off because clearly, you are not paying attention and have no idea the blow-back this has caused and the U.S team didn't need any of this.

06 Jul 2026 12:27:58
Relax Oli, lol it's just football, mate.

{Ed025's Note - but its certainly not Cricket ASB.. :)

06 Jul 2026 12:55:08
Let's call it as it is - cheating.

{Ed025's Note - absolutely Ron..

06 Jul 2026 13:36:39
Asb, yeah mate, let's just relax and not worry about the way the game is headed. I mean, I won't complain when the game is split into 4 quarters, and I, for sure, won't mind politicians getting involved.

... Just let sport be sport so us rabble can enjoy it.

On a side note, it's good to see other footballing bodies and ex members of said body voicing out against it. So there is hope. :)

06 Jul 2026 14:03:14
ArneSlotsBarber, mate, you are free to "relax" and "chill" about blatant corruption.

Just don't tell others to do the same. That part, you do not get to do.

06 Jul 2026 14:07:27
It's Trump's world, and we're just living in it until he sods off in a couple of years' time. I thought USA would have appealed the red card and got it rescinded in a different way, because it was in no way a red card, just a very awkward landing.

I don't think football will change because of this World Cup, again blowing things out of proportion in my opinion.

06 Jul 2026 15:14:08
Make America Great Again

06 Jul 2026 15:56:03
I disagree, accidental or not, it's still a red card because it seriously endangers a player's safety. The system doesn't measure intent, it measures what happens, and the challenge very clearly was dangerous.

If the rules were based on what players intended to do, they would all just claim every event was an accident, and there would be no red cards ever.



On the subject of suspending a punishment, that should never be done mid tournament and should never be done because the president of the host nation asked for it.

Be honest, Arne, if it was Iran Vs USA, and FIFA had allowed an Iranian player to skip his ban, you wouldn't be arguing in favour of it, you'd be calling corruption - because it is.

06 Jul 2026 16:42:40
@ASB, it may or may not have been a sending off offence, but that's not the issue. There may or may not have been recourse for the USA to appeal the decision, but that's not the issue either.

The issue is that the Secretary of State decided to interfere, using his political office to interfere with the running of the game, swiftly followed by the President of America calling the head of FIFA to interfere in a sporting event.

It's all well and good saying it's not worth bothering, he'll be gone soon, it's just a game, but it isn't.

Trump has proved it isn't by having a word with Gianni and then telling the world about it. He belittles the stature of the Presidency on a regular basis, usually blissfully aware that the role itself, not the person fulfilling the role, is what is important, but he's also, along with Infantino (for different reasons) has belittled football.

06 Jul 2026 17:22:41
So who here is going to stop watching the World Cup? If you're not turning it off, aren't you complicit? Knowing how corrupt FIFA is going into this, why did you start watching to begin with?

Nevada, completely disagree. They were battling for position and it was a coming together of players - it wasn't reckless nor intentional, and the system doesn't only measure "what happens".
And yes, if the card and the way VAR handled the replay was BS (arguably corrupt) to begin with, I'd be fine with any player, regardless of their nation, being allowed to skip the ban.



I'm not condoning politics getting involved, although it's a bit naive to think politics isn't already involved, but the moaning on here is ridiculous. It's like people who eat McDonald's everyday and complain about why they can't lose weight. You know FIFA (and Trump) are corrupt but just want to complain rather than do something about it... until you turn off the tele, you don't really have a leg to stand on.

06 Jul 2026 19:02:15
I've noticed English commentary teams referring to 'turn-overs' when the opposition gets the ball off an attacker, and use of 'quarters' after the advertising break, sorry, hydration break.

That countdown s*** at the start is also just stupid.

06 Jul 2026 23:46:25
So, RedMob, if you're looking at things in that way, are you happy that your electric bill will be going up again? But, at the same time, they are reporting that in the right weather conditions it's going to waste and not be used, while then charging you more.

If you don't agree with it, stop using electric. Do you agree with all the huge companies that are getting away with not paying tax? Hope you're not using them. Do you fully support Standard Chartered? Hope you're not watching us play.

07 Jul 2026 14:56:36
West, not sure you grasped my point so let me make it clearer... Stop whining about things when you're doing nothing to change them.

I don't moan about my electric bill (which is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison, but I digress) nor am I whining about our sponsors or companies that don't pay tax.

I don't give 2 shts about either. If you do, then do something about it.

Most people don't want to change because it's hard and uncomfortable and requires sacrifice, and that's fine, but you don't also get to complain about it.

05 Jul 2026 22:58:49
Brazil 2 down to Norway, that's Alisson back in the next week for preseason. I know it's World Cup fever but that Haaland lad looks a real player. ?

05 Jul 2026 23:08:03
Yeah, think it's great our players are coming home early.

05 Jul 2026 23:11:03
Alisson won't be back straight away as all players who play at World Cup will go on their holidays after & will report back in 10/14 days time.

05 Jul 2026 23:20:00
Haaland reminds me of a heavyweight boxer like Riddick Bowe or Lennox Lewis. They are so big that they look knackered after 3 rounds and just lollop around the ring trying to stay on their feet, doing the bare minimum.

Then in the 10th round they throw a big haymaker and knock you clean out!

Astonishing stuff.

05 Jul 2026 23:47:35
Good analogy, Rio.

06 Jul 2026 00:01:08
Alison will get a couple of weeks off now before reporting back for preseason.

Just Munoz and Macca left now.

06 Jul 2026 00:05:12
I think Munoz will be last to return. Spain are my tip for the WC.

06 Jul 2026 00:36:03
You look at Haaland in the lead up to his first goal. He is literally walking, not running to create movement - he just knows he will attack the ball when it arrives.

Makes me less concerned about Isak's habit of walking around....

06 Jul 2026 02:26:28
Alli won't be back next week lol.

Haaland reminds me of a Dragon Ball Z bad guy.

06 Jul 2026 11:34:42
And that is why Brazil lost. They created enuff channces to win the game before Haaland opened the scoring, but unlike Norway, they don't have a ruthless finisher to put away the more than decent amount of clear-cut chances their play actually creates. Sad for them.

06 Jul 2026 16:45:49
I think Ibou will be the last one back the way France are playing. Oh no, hang on...

05 Jul 2026 22:57:01
Carlo Ancelotti gets lorded as the one of the greatest manager.
5 Champions League I think, but I don’t think I can think of a manager that manages to get jobs like him that great AC side Madrid.


But tonight shows him for what he is, very lucky.
There is no way Brazil don’t have better midfielders than he chose.
Brazil losing to Norway is as poor as it gets.

05 Jul 2026 23:20:45
Absolutely correct. Brazil was walking around under the coaching of the great tactician Ancellotti.

05 Jul 2026 23:28:35
This Brazil team is gonna leave a bad mark on Ancelotti's name.

I said it before, this must be the worst Brazil team Ever.... And their style is just so crap.

I expected better from Ancelotti.

05 Jul 2026 23:35:20
JLC, it's the other way around. It's Ancelotti leaving a bad mark on Brazil's name. There was nothing Brazilian about the way this team was playing.

05 Jul 2026 23:50:05
It's a poor generation of Brazilian players. They haven't won a World Cup for a few decades, although they'll always produce a sprinkling of good players given how big the country is. Their work ethic isn't great, and they haven't got much individual brilliance, so not all on the coach. Haaland is unplayable at times.

06 Jul 2026 00:07:11
You don't have to have the best players to play the best football.
Brazil need to rediscover their roots. They need to get back to being entertainers.

06 Jul 2026 00:18:22
Brazil are rubbish and have been for a while, irrespective of Ancelotti.

06 Jul 2026 00:46:55
Hard to blame Ancelotti. This was the weakest Brazilian squad in 50 years or so. Though, I do agree he is a flawed coach.

Brazil have been a really grim team to watch since their unsuccessful attacking teams of 74-86. They have been pretty attritional since then, relying upon world class strikers to win them games on the counter.

They have won a couple of World Cups since 1994 with really boring football.

France, since 1998, have on the whole been a delight to watch. Yes, France have imploded a couple of times, but under Dechamps they have steel and finesse. A delight to watch.

06 Jul 2026 01:13:26
A lifetime of success and then one poor defeat and people start rewriting history. Ancelotti is no longer at his best but he's one of the best managers of all time.

06 Jul 2026 02:19:40
Can certainly blame Carlo picking Casemiro, Fabinho & Neymar when all their legs are gone. I give you the options they have at full back is appallingly bad!

06 Jul 2026 04:58:55
Do Nike still pick the Brazil squad, using the metric of most social media followers instead of actual ability?

06 Jul 2026 05:16:55
As a dude who lives in brazil and works for cruzeiro I can tell you that the common opinion is that Brazilian players going to Europe has ruined Brazilian football.

The joga bonito style which was synonymous with ronaldinho, Ronaldo, etc has been trained out of them by coaches who think individualism has no place in modern football and everyone is just a tooth on a cog for a bigger machine.

This creates a clash because the Brazilian players still playing here still play that way and when the European based players come back they just don't gel with the freewheeling domestic players. I'm not the only one to say this either. Diniz in his brief stint said Brazil will not succeed until players stop playing in Europe because they get trained to follow familiar patterns like robots and Brazilians just don't think that way.

This is even true outiside of football Brazilians are very spontaneous people and struggle when forced to follow consistent rules and patterns

06 Jul 2026 07:13:17
Brazil just looks like any other European side, no Brazilian flare for a long time.

06 Jul 2026 11:36:11
Bobcat, I agree. Carlo literally did do all those things, so has to hold the smoke.

06 Jul 2026 14:08:19
Agree with all you say, Nevada. Individual brilliance increasingly coached out of the game. Dribbling used to be an art in the game, and you see very little of it nowadays. Most wingers now pass back instead of taking players on.
The only dribbling you'll see in this WC is Infantino when he opens a suitcase stuffed with $ from Pres Dump!

06 Jul 2026 19:04:51
Bobby was the last player to come out of Brazil who retained that flair.

{Ed001's Note - naw there is still a few about. Bala who plays for Shabab Al Ahli still has a bit of that Brazilian flair at times. He does some things that get you off your seat.}

05 Jul 2026 21:49:36
Nice to see the naked corruption of FIFA suspending Balogun's red card.

Not even attempting to hide it these days.

05 Jul 2026 22:19:29
They did something similar with Ronaldo, before the World Cup even started. He got a straight red against Ireland, and was supposed to sit a 3 match ban. Instead, FIFA suspends the red card until after the World Cup, allowing Ronaldo to play from the start. Ignoring the fact that Ronaldo is likely to retire from international football, after the WC, anyway.



FIFA has their favourites, and have such control over the highest standard of football, that they know they can get away with blatant corruption now. They are not even trying to hide it anymore, that is how confident they are. Certain players / federations will openly receive favourable treatment, and there is nothing to be done about it.

05 Jul 2026 23:29:10
FIFA...corrupt?
You must be joking.

05 Jul 2026 23:56:51
FIFA? Corrupt? Never.

06 Jul 2026 05:07:37
Why bother hiding it? The most powerful man in the world (publicly) is flaunting his own and being cheered while he does it.

06 Jul 2026 11:38:46
Indeed, Hsf. FIFA nd Dump are so currupt, they don't need to hide it anymore. In fact re: Dump, him exposing his corruption gives the impression that he actually isn't.

Why? because these people think he cannot be cirrupt because if he was, he would try to hide it, like any other corrupt person would. But they don't get the fact that currpution and cruelty are the main tenants of the man's world view

05 Jul 2026 21:37:54
If ever there was going to be a bigger reason to stop fans watching the Eotld Cup, Trump and Rubio thank FIFA for rescinded the red card card, s***hole football organization bowing to the biggest s***hole leader ever.

05 Jul 2026 23:23:41
And the quality of the refs in the last few games? Clearly brown envelopes involved here.

05 Jul 2026 23:47:10
And they all started so, well, Aray... makes you wonder what has happened since the group stages.

06 Jul 2026 00:08:40
I think there are some much bigger s***hole leaders, but doesn't detract from the point. FIFA are tarnishing the game.

06 Jul 2026 00:08:40
I think there are some much bigger s***hole leaders, but doesn't detract from the point. FIFA are tarnishing the game.

06 Jul 2026 00:34:54
Bigger s*** hole leaders than Trump? Who?? The guy is a corrupt, compulsive liar who lines his own piockets any chance he gets. As for FIFA - Infantino gave Trump their inaugural peace prize, to a guy who illegally kidnapped the Venezuelan president, and started a war with Iran ? Which says everything you need to know.

06 Jul 2026 01:10:39
There are quite a few leaders worse than that Seano, one that is never talked about is Xi Jinping.

06 Jul 2026 04:32:25
Trump is bad but there are much worse around seano. 40k protesters were killed by the Iranian leaders just a few months ago. The people of Iran were happy that Trump attacked their country, that's how bad they are.

{Ed001's Note - that is not true, you have a lot of Israelis on social media pretending to be Iranians happy that he attacked and there is no evidence that 40k were killed, other than the propaganda from the Israelis and Trump to justify attacking Iran. I know plenty of Iranians and those that don't like their leadership were still not happy the country was attacked. You do realise that real Iranians have family there still, so why would they be bloody happy???}

06 Jul 2026 05:14:50
Putin is the modern day angry moustache man, just saying.

06 Jul 2026 05:19:33
Ron can you describe what xi has done which is worse than trump bombing school girls, arresting American citizens and ignoring the constitution? While allowimg his billionaire Mates to run amok and line their pockets? The USA right now is like a warlord owned African nation.

06 Jul 2026 07:00:22
But Trump has settled 7 wars and counting ?

{Ed078's Note - He's ended the Iran one, that he started, 27 times already!

06 Jul 2026 07:27:55
I'm not going in to it Nevada, this is not a political website and you can use Google, but the tip of the iceberg is the Uyghur Muslims.

06 Jul 2026 08:15:45
Dont see how Teump is any worse than others.in the USA the polls still have him ahead, we had Starmer, a man who was giving British territory up n paying them for the privilege, we can't even fly our flag , then we had the Tories, one bunch of greedy rats,

06 Jul 2026 11:06:54
The difference is, the World Cup wouldn't be held in China, Russia or Iran, though, would it?

06 Jul 2026 11:35:56
Was it not held in Russia not that long ago?

06 Jul 2026 11:52:19
Angry moustache man? Harold Meaker out of Rentaghost?

06 Jul 2026 11:45:34
Kopite_86, you are aware that Maga is a fact-free zone, right?

And people need to stop trying to compare such nonsensical violations under the "Who did/is worse"? rubbish.

They are all despicable and disgusting in their own unique ways so there is no honour amongst these thieves.

Also, all violations of human/civil rights as well as a deliberate trageting of civilians during a war is an abomination and it doesn't matter who does it.

Btw, Israel, U.S, & Russia have targeted helpless civillians in their war of choice and should all be held accountable, end of.

06 Jul 2026 11:57:40
I live in Taiwan Ron, all too familiar with Xi Jinping. Their system is such that any threat to it is brutally and nonchalantly dealt with. They did the same with the Falun Gong, and there have been organ harvesting stories for decades.

I don't think trying to say one dreadful regime is worse than the other justifies anything, Trumo is scraping the bottom of the barrel, and Xi, Putin, etc etc are sitting in it with him. We should be able to agree that they are all awful.

06 Jul 2026 18:26:26
I have an Iranian colleague who tells me what he and his family have been through. His and his wifes family are still there. With respect ed001, don't try to tell me what the Iranian people think when I have heard it straight from a Persians mouth. I have been shown videos of what their government have done.

Persian people do not want their current government. Iran was a very liberal country before it was taken over and the people were forced to obey laws that they do not agree with. Look into what Iran was like in the 70s.

{Ed001's Note - I have seen mate, and heard from lots of Persians, not just one family. You are forgetting there are South Africans (always rich, white former slave owners) that say the same things about their current regime and claim it should go back. I also said that it was not about support for the current regime, it was about them having family in the country, but I guess you were too busy being a know it all because you know one person. Oh and in the 70s was before the Shah started his crackdown on human rights, which was when the problems began and why they had a popular revolt. He was the root cause of the problems, not the current regime.

For all the hatred towards their regime, they have just about the highest rate of degree-educated people in the world, with free education. If you want to destroy people's freedoms and keep them enslaved, the first thing you do is destroy their education.}

06 Jul 2026 21:33:46
It is not just one Persian person I have spoken to about this, although this is the person I have discussed it with in the most depth.

My colleague and his wife came to the UK to pursue education and have had to pay tens of thousands of pounds for the privilege of visas. They are both now lecturers at universities in the UK, which is something they would not have been able to achieve in their own country.

The people are oppressed. When protesters were killed, the government shut off the internet so the truth could not get out. My colleague was unable to contact his family for at least two weeks. There is much more I could say, but I know with certainty that these things are happening.

As for being called a know it all, I felt that you dismissed what I said, even though the information came from someone who has lived under that regime. I trust the word of people who have experienced it directly more than the view of outsiders looking in.

05 Jul 2026 20:55:00
When the guy says "please rise if you are able" before the national anthems, England should be ok after their Viagra...

06 Jul 2026 08:13:42
Now that I know the result. Best Viagra pun really should be...

England rise to the occasion!

05 Jul 2026
New image uploaded to the
Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled, Very similar between Anderson and Camara

Click picture for larger image

05 Jul 2026 22:52:24
Lamine Camara has been my first choice for midfield ever since Iraola was appointed. He's perfect for the way he plays.

05 Jul 2026 19:57:16
Bild now reporting that Said El Mala's expected to stay at Köln given his mother (and agent) is being difficult to work with. Yes it's Bild but I reckon we go in for Pardo now.

Happy days.

05 Jul 2026 20:28:57
Pardo??? Really? What has this kid done to warrant being linked to us? If anything, he would struggle in the prem. There's nothing special about him from what I've seen.

05 Jul 2026 20:47:11
I'd be going Minteh, Summerville, Savinho, etc before going near Pardo.

05 Jul 2026 21:53:37
Getting to the point with the age and price of a lot of these guys, the answer is in the academy.

Abe, Keyrol Fig, anyone clued up enough.........

Looking at players for millions who have had 1 half decent year.

06 Jul 2026 10:06:49
I'm normally quite optimistic and pragmatic, but this lolly scramble of transfer news so far this window is a bit demoralizing lol.

06 Jul 2026 11:47:00
Slow summer news day, I reckon, @Faith.

05 Jul 2026 19:32:21
I wonder how much Trump paid FIFA to allow Balogun to play next game after he was suspended. ??

05 Jul 2026 20:26:14
Nothing as Infantino is a loyal dog to Trump.

05 Jul 2026 20:26:16
Nothing. Infantino is so far up Trumps a*#e that it was probably his idea.

05 Jul 2026 21:19:02
I never saw the red, I've been told by many people it wasn't a red but from this thread, the overwhelming opinion it was a red!

So was it or wasn't it?

05 Jul 2026 22:24:59
It was never a red. No clear intent whatsoever. The U.S. rightly appealed it imo.

05 Jul 2026 23:30:34
You mean Trump appealed it...

05 Jul 2026 23:59:39
The only thing Infantino is loyal to is money. No doubt Infantino had a sudden increase in his bank account.

06 Jul 2026 00:11:13
Endangering an opponent, whether intentional or not, is a red card.

It was harsh, but I don't see their grounds for appeal. Studs were raised. ?‍♂️

06 Jul 2026 10:09:45
Keegan, the red card hasn't been over-turned. It remains on his record, but the suspension has been suspended.

It's nothing to do with the foul itself.

06 Jul 2026 11:09:24
Intent is irrelevant, Purm.

06 Jul 2026 11:47:33
Why would you pay for what you can get for free?