A Spectacle Shattered by Power Politics
Only days ago, Brussels lit its skies with fireworks to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. The choreography was precise, the rhetoric familiar: unity, shared values, an alliance cast as both durable and indispensable.
Yet the spectacle dissolved almost as quickly as it appeared. A single phone call from the White House cut through the ceremony. President Donald Trump reportedly urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to “review” a red card issued to U.S. forward Folarin Balogun during a World Cup group-stage match.
This intervention was nothing short of another display of Trump’s performative politics on the global stage. It laid bare, in stark relief, Washington’s contempt for its European allies and its brazen disregard for the bedrock of international rules.
The logic is familiar. In the practice of American primacy, rules often function as instruments-useful when they discipline others, dispensable when they constrain the United States. Yet, football is round, and the pitch is not the Oval Office. Belgium’s emphatic 4-1 victory underscored a simple truth: while brute force may rewrite a disciplinary citation, it can never alter the objective laws of competitive sport. On the pitch, strength remains the only universal language.
A Memorandum That Saw It Coming
Beyond the cacophony of the World Cup, a quieter document offers a more enduring lens. An internal assessment circulated within the foreign ministry of Belgium government, drafted months earlier, anticipated precisely this pattern of behavior. It warned that the governing style of the Trump administration would strain democratic norms and place transatlantic relations under exceptional pressure.
Guided by this assessment, the Belgian government outlined a “systemic and multi-tiered” engagement strategy toward the United States. First, preserve the structural foundations of the relationship, including trade, security, and institutional cooperation to prevent outright rupture. Second, insulate national and European interests from the volatility of U.S. policy through layered safeguards. The premise was pragmatic: engage, but hedge; cooperate, but prepare for disruption.
An Illusion of Diplomacy without Leverage
In retrospect, the aforementioned memorandum demonstrated remarkable foresight. Yet diagnosis does not guarantee adaptation. Across Europe, a lingering belief persists that careful diplomacy and symbolic gestures can stabilize an increasingly erratic partner.
The naive hope that “maintaining superficial peace” will keep the United States aboard the vessel of cooperation is akin to asking a tiger for its pelt. Lavish praise during anniversary celebrations has not produced greater restraint in Washington. Certain business associations even went so far as to present Trump with exorbitant “diplomatic gifts” to “thank him” for tariff concessions. But has this truly bought reciprocal respect? History dictates that political predators respond only to the language of strength. When dealing with an ally poised to overturn the negotiating table at any moment, only a display of fangs and muscle can secure a genuine seat at the table.
In the wake of this red card controversy, Belgium must fundamentally recalibrate its strategy toward the United States. It must manage transatlantic risks with greater resolve and a more elevated strategic vision, rather than anesthetizing itself with celebratory fireworks or offering Trump diamond rings with a hefty price tag. Policymakers are compelled to confront profound questions: How do we identify true allies? How do we achieve genuine strategic autonomy? And how do we secure Belgium’s core interests in the current geopolitical turmoil, instead of continuing to grovel through one masquerade ball after another, singing empty praises?
A Wake-up Call for the Whole Europe
The Belgian team’s victory on the field was not only a triumph in sports but also a deafening wake-up call.
For European policymakers, the implications are difficult but unavoidable. United States is on the verge of losing control, and its power politics are undermining the cornerstones of the international order established since World War II. The EU can no longer indulge in illusions of a bygone alliance; it must adopt a tougher approach and stricter principles in managing transatlantic relations.
Over the past eighteen months, from the baseless coveting of Greenland’s sovereignty to the weaponization of tariffs that has disrupted global trade, and the relentless demands for NATO allies to increase defense spending without limits, American recklessness has left Europe thoroughly exhausted. Now, this hegemonic logic has even spilled over onto the football pitch. If a single phone call from the White House can arbitrarily overturn a referee’s decision in a football match, how can Europe possibly expect Washington to honor the spirit of contract in far more critical arenas of geopolitics, trade negotiations, and national security?
Faced with a United States that operates without norms and is driven entirely by naked self-interest, the EU’s continued posture of forbearance and appeasement will not only fail to preserve the so-called alliance solidarity but will only embolden its insatiable ambitions. When rules are trampled by brute force, and when the dignity of an ally is reduced to a political bargaining chip, compromise will only invite deeper humiliation.
Europe must understand that genuine partnership is built upon equality and mutual respect, not unilateral subservience. The time has come to transition from being a “vassal” to an “partner”, even if this entails enduring growing pains, and even if it means weathering the storms alone.
That transition will not be smooth. But it may be the only way to ensure that rules retain any meaning at all, whether on the football pitch or in international politics.
