By Vanessa Cort

NO sooner had I written about the capacity of sport to bring us together than trouble began to ‘rear its head’ at the current World Cup tournament.
Allegations of unfair decisions by referees, allegedly pressured by the powers-that- be, culminated with the President of the International Football Federation (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, facing investigation.
It all came to a head in the Round of 16 game between Argentina and Egypt, where the Argentinians made a remarkable comeback from two goals down to win the match 3-2. Those three goals came in 13 minutes and many challenged their validity.
After the initial celebration over this incredible victory by the world champions, social media was flooded by a flurry of outraged comments.
Viewers around the world questioned decisions made during the match, the efficacy of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology and the role of Infantino in all of this.
A disallowed Egyptian goal and disputed yellow cards issued to its players marred the game and gave rise to complaints that the Argentinians were being specially favoured.
Egyptian supporters also accused the Argentinian fans of becoming violent and abusive, throwing beer bottles at them and shouting racial slurs.
They were not alone as the Cape Verde fans made similar complaints. The team from the small African island nation gave the world champs a ‘run for their money’, pulling back two goals before eventually conceding the winning goal in the second half of extra time.
Argentina was in trouble again in their quarter-finals match against Norway, when the Norwegian team scored in the second half, tying the match at 1-1.
They were then forced to play with one man short, after striker, Breel Embolo, received a second yellow card for a foul, leading to an automatic red card and had to leave the field.
The referee’s decision came into dispute as he had previously issued a yellow card to an Argentinian player for the foul, but reversed this after a controversial VAR review.
The fact that the call was made just minutes after the Norwegians had levelled the score reignited claims that the tournament favoured the Argentinians, who still had difficulty overcoming their rivals, eventually scoring the winning goal in extra time.
FIFA has now been openly accused of bias by many and Infantino is facing heavy backlash for an earlier decision to lift a one-match ban against US striker Folarin Balogun.
According to Time magazine, dozens of members of the European Parliament have called for an investigation into the FIFA President’s role in lifting the ban. They have written to the European Union Football Association (EUFA)asking them to “lend their voices” in support of a probe into whether Infantino succumbed to US pressure.
The lawmakers referred to the FIFA Statutes and Code of Ethics, clearly requiring political neutrality, particularly after the US president, Donald Trump, claimed responsibility for the reversed decision, saying, “I was the one who got them to do it”.
Further compounding his woes, the FIFA President received a letter from 50 members of the European body voicing support for an ethics complaint. Non-profit organisation, Fair Square, registered concerns over Infantino’s unilateral decision to award Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize last December.
Martyn Ziegler of The London Times also reported that several countries, which had backed Infantino’s re-election, are now considering withdrawing their support following the lifting of the ban, considered to be crossing “a red line”
If anything, the raging controversies and the allegations against Argentinian fans during this World Cup, have shown just how much politics and racism can divide us in a world of sport intended to create greater unity.
And as the finals take place today between Spain, the reigning European champions and Argentina, the world champions, I do hope the match will see fairness and camaraderie return to the sport, regardless of the result.
As Frank Deford, legendary American sportswriter and commentator, once said, ” I think, at its best, sport does bring us together”.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.