As one of the foundation stones of a fully functioning and successful Manchester United team, there was a time when Rio Ferdinand could call himself an analyst.
Ferdinand saw Declan Rice as a box-to-box midfielder before many others did and once offered as good a technical assessment as any of how central defenders might handle pressing.
But his nauseating celebration of FIFA rescinding USA striker Folarin Balogun’s red card — three clapping-hands emojis — put him in a minority of one beyond the US’s own cheerleaders, sent his name across the world as a Gianni Infantino shill and ate away at what professional integrity he imagines he has as a dispenser of wisdom at this World Cup.
Trilling a penny whistle for FIFA amid the World Cup’s moment of gravest reputational damage for years looked a hell of a lot like reciprocation from Ferdinand, for getting to host that that atrocious World Cup draw at Washington’s Kennedy Centre, last December.
Rio Ferdinand’s reaction to FIFA’s scandalous decision to overturn Folarin Balogun’s suspension has eaten away at what professional integrity he imagines he has left
Ferdinand co-hosted FIFA’s atrocious World Cup draw last December – and he has gone into bat for his old pal Gianni Infantino
You might remember how that one played out for him. Ferdinand suffered a sense of humour failure when a questioner asked him about his heading ability. He tends to wobble on FIFA duty when stuff pops up that’s not in the script he’s been told to read out.
In 2022, no one seemed to have informed him that the deaths of workers on Qatar stadium building sites might get a mention. Or the fundamental lack of credibility of the reptilian Infantino. Awkward. Having sold out to FIFA, he presumes to think that everyone would be going along with their happy-clappy fluff.
He doesn’t seem to need media work so much, given the huge wealth that his vast footprint as an influencer and lifestyle guru has raked in.
Yet Sunday night was a serious blow to his reputation and studio presence, given the robust and articulate responses of Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher, who were responding in real time to the scandal of FIFA kow-towing to Trump. Keane, you might remember, was also impressive in his uncompromising discussion of Qatar human rights. Ferdinand was an apologist.
The brief spat which ensued in the social media space between Ferdinand and Piers Morgan over the red card on Sunday night was not the height of sophistication — with its basis residing in Ferdinand managing to get #PiersHasMoobs trending years ago — but Morgan can be confident that he’s on the right side of the argument.
That became increasingly clear on Monday when Trump waded deeper into the episode, delighted to insinuate himself into ‘the soccer’ by confirming that he’d pulled levers with ‘Janni’ — as he described Infantino — to get the USA’s best striker back into the tournament.
Trump dragged the World Cup down into his usual mode of trash talk, throwing a vial of poison out at the Brazilian referee who sent Balogun off.
‘The referee, who is a little bit suspect — if you check his past. I don’t want to say that because I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect. If you’d like, I’ll provide you with his past.’ Raphael Claus testified at the Brazilian FA’s inquiry on match-fixing in 2024. He was found not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Former Man United and England star Ferdinand is now based in Dubai with his wife Kate
Trump’s public admission that he’d pulled levers with Infantino to overturn Balogun’s suspension was a humiliation for the FIFA chief
For Infantino, every word spewing out of Trump’s mouth deepened the personal humiliation. The FIFA chief insisted that the Balogun decision had nothing to do with the President’s call – yet before that intervention FIFA sources were insisting that the referee’s decision was final and there would be no appeal.
This episode has stained a tournament which for a long time had been flying with neither sight nor sound of Trump.
A Pandora’s Box has been opened now. France want Michael Olise’s yellow card overturned. Brazil are infuriated by the slight on their nation’s referee.
Ferdinand was steadfastly avoiding the subject yesterday, reserving his tweets to posts about England, a ‘Rio Reacts’ video of him watching one of their goals, sponsored by Airbnb, and a post trashing the British press. A day in the life of Ferdinand the analyst.
