Interesting details have emerged from behind closed doors at the Ankara summit.
Modern.az reports that, according to "The Guardian", leaders of NATO member countries have reached an unofficial agreement not to touch upon the topic of the World Cup within the framework of the summit.
The reason for this is said to be European politicians' desire to avoid tension in relations with the US president. According to the information, the controversial performance of the US national team in the tournament is at the root of this caution.
It should be recalled that in the 1/16 final match against Bosnia and Herzegovina (2:0), American striker Folarin Balogun received a direct red card after VAR intervention. However, FIFA unexpectedly suspended the player's penalty. Thanks to this decision, he was able to play against Belgium in the 1/8 final. That game ended with a heavy 1:4 defeat for the US.
It was later revealed that Donald Trump had personally spoken twice on the phone with FIFA President Gianni Infantino regarding this situation. To avoid overshadowing other important topics on the summit's agenda, the leaders decided not to discuss the Americans' failure in the match against Belgium.
