Dave Portnoy recently took a jab at European fans for their complaints after FIFA lifted the red card suspension of USMNT player Folarin Balogun, allowing him to participate in the upcoming match against Belgium on Monday night.
The founder of Barstool Sports remarked that he hasn’t seen such a level of grievance since incidents like Deflategate and the Michigan Connor Stallions scandal.
“The crying over this decision, the tears from Europe, the constant whining—it’s all from Belgium’s lawyers claiming this shouldn’t happen. UEFA even stated, ‘This is illegal. You can’t do that.’ But it boils down to one primary issue,” Portnoy commented on FS1’s “Wake Up Barstool” on Monday.
“Some say, ‘Oh, you’ve got a problem with Trump and all that.’ No, it’s simply that they’re worried we’re improving at soccer. Europe is terrified because they lose out if we get better at this sport,” he explained.
Portnoy elaborated, “We’re bigger, we’re seen as worse, and we’ve bled for them in every world war. We are the United States—the bullies. This is the only sport we actually care about. We basically took hockey away from Canada; imagine if we dominate soccer too—they’d have nothing.”
He first mentioned Balogun’s red card situation on Sunday during the X-Post, suggesting that some penalties could be rescinded soon.
On Monday’s episode, a co-host jokingly asked if Trump was his source, to which Portnoy didn’t really refute the idea.
Trump, who influenced Balogun’s playing eligibility against Belgium, made a call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino about the ruling but maintained he wasn’t behind the final decision.
“Yes, I often discuss World Cup matters with the President of the United States. On this topic, I did receive a call from President Trump, much like I do from various global leaders, officials, and business people regarding different concerns,” Infantino stated.
While Portnoy was targeting European fans, UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, also expressed discontent over the decision, labeling it as “unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unfair.”
