US exit World Cup despite Trump's intervention

**Alex Ritson** (0:00)
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and in the early hours of Tuesday 7 July, these are our main stories. The United States crash out of the World Cup, losing to Belgium, despite having one of their star footballers on the pitch after intervention from President Trump. A BBC Eye investigation finds evidence of detention centres for Ukrainians in Russia and occupied Ukraine, with allegations of torture and conflict-related sexual violence. And we hear from a 12-year-old girl in Venezuela who survived for 32 hours under the rubble following two devastating earthquakes.
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We begin with football and the World Cup. The co-hosts, the United States, are out of the tournament after losing 4-1 to Belgium. For the Americans, it was a disappointing end, particularly as they had played well until this match. It was an exciting game but overshadowed by a row that went before it. In the Americans' previous match, the US player Follerin Balogun received a red card and got an automatic one-game ban. But football's governing global body, FIFA, then suspended that ban, meaning he was available for the game against Belgium. There was outrage when President Trump revealed that he'd called FIFA to lobby on behalf of Balogun. The BBC's Pete Ross explained why this caused so much controversy.

**Pete Ross** (1:59)
I think the reason this has grabbed so much attention, Alex, is the sort of unprecedented nature in the way that FIFA has stepped in. To be clear, when a player gets a red card and is sent off during a game at the World Cup, under the current laws, they are automatically suspended for the next match. Now, in the competition's 96-year history, 189 other players have been sent off. And of all of those, only once has a player escaped a suspension. That was in 1962 It was Brazil's Guaríncha, a great of the game. And that was actually before automatic bans were in place. And at the time, that was also controversial, and it was shrouded in allegations of political interference. And it's those questions of political interference, in this case, that I think grabbed so much attention.
Europe's governing body, UEFA, in a fairly unprecedented intervention of its own, in the middle of a tournament, accused FIFA of crossing a red line by making what it described as an incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision to rescind Balligan's automatic one-match ban. Some suggested that President Trump's intervention also brings into question the credibility of the tournament. And does it now actually perhaps set a precedent? The England manager, Thomas Tuco, in England's last match when they defeated Mexico to go into the quarter-finals, one of the England players was sent off, Jarel Kwanzaa, and he said in an interview that should perhaps England appeal that red card. And of course, there'd be perhaps many coaches that would suggest the same. And finally, some said that if the US had won, it might have tainted their victory. But of course, that's not really an issue now, because they have, as you said, gone out the World Cup.

**Alex Ritson** (3:44)
Yeah, in the end, the US strikers' inclusion did not help.

**Pete Ross** (3:48)
No, Florent Balagan did not manage to help his team. It was a fairly comprehensive victory for Belgium. They won 4-1 in the end. They took an early lead. The US got back into the game with a quick equaliser, but it was only an even game for a couple of minutes, and then Belgium scored another goal. And as we said, it ended up 4-1. So Balagan, not much help.

**Alex Ritson** (4:06)
And the day's other knockout game, Spain and Portugal played earlier. What happened in that game? Many saying it's the end of the road for one of the all-time greats, Ronaldo.

**Pete Ross** (4:17)
Yeah, that's right. He was pictured almost in tears at the end of the game. His Portugal side went down 1-0 to 91 minutes. Goals scored in the 91st minute by Spain. As you say, one of the games great, possibly some would say the greatest of all time. Lots of records. He's the only man in the history of the World Cup to score in six consecutive tournaments. However, he didn't score in this game and that meant that his team went out.

**Alex Ritson** (4:46)
Pete Ross.
A BBC Eye investigation has verified the existence of 195 detention centres across Russia and occupied Ukraine where Ukrainian civilians are being held. Prosecutors and survivors say that torture and conflict-related sexual violence is endemic. Since 2014, 16,000 have been detained or disappeared in Russian-occupied areas. The Eye team has identified some of the perpetrators. Offering a rare insight into a prison system, international observers have no free access to. Tanya Herchenko from the BBC World Service reports.