Castanza

Looks like the rotation is beginning....some of these names are starting to run away already

Where are you watching the World Cup? Live Sports is the biggest market with the highest viewership that is only growing. Netflix has a very diverse global content catalogue to begin with so I can see them chasing down things like World Cup coverage a positive. You're also seeing leagues like the NFL expand internationally with a more games every year being played abroad. Netflix is a great platform with a global audience to capture that market. https://www.thestreet.com/entertainment/netflix-disney-youtube-bidding-world-cup-streaming

Why would they cancel? YouTube TV is $65 and $85/m respectively. If Netflix charged me $40/m and it included current content and sports I would drop YouTube TV in a minute.

That’s every sport now. It’s a terrible investment these days…parents spend 10s of thousands on sports for their kids only to have less than 2% of them get scholarships and only what 1% of those kids go pro? I played HS Basketball for the 16th AAAA team in the country back in the early 2010s. I got looked at by a few big schools (Penn State) early in my HS years but not coming from a wealthy family it was near impossible to keep up with the AAU fees and general expense for offseason play/training schedule. Decided it wasn’t for me as it became a job and I lost the love of the game. My point is unless you’re willing to commit 100% from a family perspective in terms of time and money and friendships it’s incredible difficult these days to do anything in sports. 100x worse now with kids in Middle School having agents!

There are a lot of niche sports cultures in the US but that doesn’t always translate to growth. When I was in Columbus sports bars were always packed with Columbus Crew fans. But the traditional big three are definitely changing and there seems to be some more pipelines developing for “alt” sports like Lacrosse, Soccer, Rugby, Volleyball, etc. in the US. But the US is nowhere near close to what you find in say the UK with clubs signing kids at 10 and developing them from there.

Ass whooping performance

Spain has so much depth on their team too. They can completely change the team dynamic with a few substitutions. Is US survives Belgium I don’t see them surviving Spain.

End of an Era! Not a great finish as the team didn’t mesh well, but one Hell of a career. Respect

I mean the red card is political no? Not really off topic because it's a big deal for the USA vs Belgium game. I feel like the discussion still revolved around football and the FIFA rules. I mean it's hard to ignore Trump inserting himself into the World Cup. Anyways it's final. Belgium appeal has been rejected by FIFA so I think most can agree on here that it shouldn't have been a Red Card, the FIFA rules allowed the change, but it was unprecedent and Trump definitely influenced the change which most would say is a negative. Checking out till gametime! Good luck Belgium fans hope it's an entertaining match.

High quality gotcha @Gregmal

LOL eat your heart out Team Integrity

The Argentinian President doesn't have to call. Messi's clout and influence on marketing, sales, and viewership speak for itself. People need to stop acting like sports have any integrity at all anymore....There is no integrity when billions of dollars are involved and all hinge on viewership/merch sales and ticket sales. Take a look at the sellout landscape of College Football (American version). Integrity, tradition, sportsmanship, have been dead for a long time. That's why there is such growth in Non-League Football.

Did VAR Board unilaterally not give Messi a Red Card? Or do you think they thought..."Should we really ban Messi the best player in the world from the World Cup?" That's just AS corrupt and didn't even require a President to get it done!

Why? VAR was used incorrectly, there was no Yellow issued in real time by the ref and Article 27 gives them provision to do so. You don't have to like it because it's the first case of the rule being applied...but the rules are being applied per how they are written. So far VAR is a complete joke and nobody is using it as it was intended. It's being used to subjectively and selectively apply or not apply penalties to key players. Technology is supposed to introduce more clarity and consistency. If it is not doing those things then what the Hell is the point of it?

World Cup rules are there is no formal appeal process for standard Red Cards with one game suspensions. FIFA can unilaterally choose to review something (Article 27). Belgium attempted to appeal through their federation but the FIFA Appeal Committee ruled it inadmissible as of now.

There is no appeal process in the World Cup. The US team did not and could not appeal.

I agree it's a travesty the US President pushed on this. But you still ignore the rule that makes this a legitimate move by FIFA based on article 27. Now we can argue they might never have made the change without pressure from Trump (I would agree)...but the ability and latitude to do so still exists. So stop complaining about the "rules" not being followed and "fairness of application to all" and we can continue to bitch together about the intrusion of politics into the game. I hope FIFA reverses it and maintains the integrity of the game. But FIFAs integrity did not change with this call. It was already long gone....

Unprecedented doesn't mean incorrect. FIFA created Article 27 for a reason. Also it was created in 2023 so this is the first World Cup tournament it has been available for. You can't cherry pick rules.... @dwy000 @Kizion The rules are not being "fairly applied". You guys keep glossing over the Messi tackle that was much worse by all standards and it was reviewed by VAR team and no car was ruled. That is no being applied fairly. So if you are going to have tech to "improve the officiating of the game." Then use it fairly and accurately. If the ref isn't pulling a Yellow card in real time to make a call how the F can you say it's fair to make a call after you watch the replay and especially a Red? Plus VAR isn't supposed to be used in slow motion. FIFA explicitly stated this as a reason.

What rule was broken?

FIFA made the rule in 2023...Article 27... I agree and dislike the change in the Red. But I acknowledge it was a bad call. Removing the appeal process was a dumb move by FIFA. It would have alleviated all of this nonsense. Anyone being surprised at how corrupt FIFA is is laughable at best. As I said, there have been "no calls" and "calls" in this World Cup that could have and arguable are making big changes to potential outcomes. Messi NOT getting a Red card after review is just as bad as this Red getting overturned. But the outcome of both situations is what? It's the best players staying on the field. What did Batman say? "Look to see who benefits if you want to know who committed the crime." People will of course choose to drag the US because Trump got involved (understandable). But there should be zero doubt that other countries have and do intervene with the FIFA board about similar stuff. The pleading ignorance as if this is the FIRST time corruption has ever occurred in FIFA soccer is laughable.

the plot thickens….regardless of outcome for the US team; Trump and Lutnick have written in permanent ink a big ass asterisk next to the 2026 World Cup Team….

No team would try to get another teams best Striker reinstated…that’s a silly question….US is NOT the only team to have players reinstated this tournament. Again, I think it should stand even though it was terrible. But some US bias here is really driving the narrative without looking at the other cases. Nobody complained about Ronaldo or the four other players having suspension suspended or removed so they can play World Cup matches. Why does the outrage only start with Balogun? Is the corruption Trump making the call? Or the fact that the US player is the only one that shouldn't have theirs overturned based on FIFA Disciplinary Rule Changes and Reviews?

That’s not true….Ronaldo had his suspension pushed back so he could play a World Cup match. edit: fwiw I think it shouldn’t be reversed. I’m all for less tech intervention in sports in general. This obsession with reviews and precision are ruining the nuance of the game (baseball, basketball, football, soccer, etc).

LOL Can’t help but laugh at this situation. Balogun gets a red and the whole world says FIFA is corrupt and says it should never have been a RED. FIFA reverses the call and now the whole world says FIFA is corrupt and they shouldn’t make changes. and now speculation Trump was involved….ffs… July 4th is over and now the US is the villain again