July 11, 2026 • 10 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Boston's Bulldozer operates seven days a week. The Kuner Report
weekend edition w RKO, the Voice of Boston.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
All right, this has now become the biggest story in
the entire world. I'm not exaggerating, I'm not kidding. So
President Trump gives makes a phone call to the president
to FIFA, who he happens to know, and all he
tells the president of FIFA is could you just review
(00:28):
that red card call? Look at the video you'll see
what I mean. He goes, it's not a red card. Hell,
it's not even a yellow card. And if you believe
it's not a red card, can you then, you know,
resend it because we need this guy Balligan for the
big game against Belgium yesterday. Now listen to President Trump.
He's asked by reporters, they've been all over this. You
(00:52):
would think this is the second coming of Watergate. He said, yeah,
I picked up the phone. I called, and I said,
would you take a look at review the red card?
Roll cut thirteen, Mike, he.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Didn't do anything wrong, and he's our best player, or
one of our best players a very any game a
red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't
think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that
means you can't play in the next game, at least
in the next game. I said, boy, that's a big
You know, if it happened to another player, it would
have been unfair. But when they take your best player
(01:28):
or just about they have some great players, but and
they say you can't play, that's very unfair. That's you know,
it's one thing to pedalize somebody for the game, but
how do you penalize them for a game that hasn't
been played yet. It's very unfair. You can't do that. So, yes,
I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to
(01:50):
a man who's highly respected.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, another he spoke to the president of FIFA, and
he said, could you take a look at it now?
I'm telling you, if please look at the foul yourself,
go online, you'll see what I mean. Everybody, and I
mean practically everybody unless you're blind or you're so you
know you're willfully blind because you're consumed with TBS trumped
(02:16):
arrangement syndrome. You're like, that's not a red card, that's
not even a yellow card. That's okay, maybe a foul
I guess so. In other words, it was a clear
gross injustice. It was wrong. And finally a president, a
leader of a country, finally said, you know what, No,
(02:38):
I'm not putting up with this. Our boys got robbed.
It was a horrible call. By the way, FIFA is
notoriously corrupt. Their referees are notoriously corrupt for throwing games
or getting people kicked out of games, or giving them
red cards they don't deserve, so they're out of that
(02:58):
game or they're going to be out of the next game.
And Trump picked up the phone and said, blank you no,
I want you to take a look at it. No,
we didn't threaten him. He you know, he didn't say
we're gonna you know, you're gonna sleep in the thing,
you know, like Luca Bratzi, You're gonna be sleeping with
the fishes. He just said, look, can you take a
look at it? Because to me, this is blatantly unfair. Now,
(03:18):
FIFA sided with Trump, okay, almost unprecedented. Not unprecedented, but
almost unprecedented because they have rescinded red cards in the past.
Okay for big players, special players. FIFA came out and said, no,
we sided with President Trump. He's right, and they rescinded
the red card, meaning Balligan could play, and he did
(03:42):
play against Belgium yesterday. I am telling you when I
say a public firestorm erupted, it is an understatement. It
became overnight, the biggest in the world, the liberal media
(04:05):
going berserk, the Europeans, especially the European left, apoplectic, the
sports media and they're the worst in this country, ESPN, Fox,
all these woke idiots. This is so unfair. How dare
they rescind a red card? That's just not done. You
(04:29):
have to respect the referee, you have to respect the system,
and so listen to this. By the way, some Democrats
were saying they should impeach Trump on this. This was corrupt,
this was political interference. He's ruining soccer. This was wrong
(04:53):
on every level. And I'm looking at all this and
I'm like, okay, was it a clear injustice. Yes, Did
Baligan deserve that red card? Absolutely not. Why can't the
leader call up the head of FIFA and say, hey, look,
(05:13):
you guys are going to decide what you're going to decide.
But I'm telling you that wasn't a yellow card or
a red card or whatever. Could you guys, take a
look at it. Do me a favor, because my countrymen,
you know, and country women, you know, my fellow Americans,
they're a livid about this. This is going to maybe
cost us the game, and there cost us are running
(05:35):
the World Cup now when you see injustice done to
your team, to your country, and remember they're representing the
United States and whatever you think of soccer as a sport,
and I know many of you say is like watching
grass grow. I get it. But the FIFA World Cup
(05:57):
is the Super Bowl. Pales in comparison in terms of viewership.
You're looking at three point five maybe four billion viewers
around the world. No other sport comes close. It is
the biggest international stage in sports, probably in anything. All
(06:18):
eyes are on the United States were the co host.
This is gonna be Yesterday's game was the biggest game
in US soccer history. And we're not going to be
playing with our best player. Not because he's injured or
there was a justified red card that's something else, but
(06:38):
because a shady referee decided to stick it to Uncle Sam.
And they often do that to American players and give
him a bogus BS red card that anybody looks at
and says no, that's clearly not a red card. So
Trump is standing up for our country, our players in
(07:00):
the World Cup and gets a horrible decision rescinded. And
yet he's the olgre he's the bad guy, he's the dictator,
he's the monster. The left went ballistic. I want you
to listen. Now. This is Kate Andrews from the Washington Post.
(07:25):
She goes on MS now, she's one of their sports writers.
Roll cut sixteen, Mike.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Other teams will not be happy about this, But the
biggest impact that this has is USA soccer fans. I
think the President has misunderstood the beautiful game. Part of
it is that you don't always get the call you want.
There's real disappointment, there's the hope that kills you. This
is part of the beauty of soccer, and the point
is that you have to triumph over what are often
perceived to be unfair calls. If you were watching England
(07:55):
play last night, they got a red card, but you
don't see the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom calling
up to ask for that to be changed, not least
because England has gone through and they continue to be
in the knockout rounds. I think the biggest disappointment for
me anyway, I'm sure for a lot of Americans is
if the USA continues to advance and this is one
of their best World Cups in decades. I think a
lot of people out there will feel like it was unfair,
(08:16):
like they didn't actually win it, because part of it
is that you have to overcome the adversity and what
are perceived sometimes be unfair calls. You can't have people
calling up making a phone call in your favor to
get you the win.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
This is unbelievable. First of all, England did end up winning,
even though they got a red card number two. It
was a justified red card. Everybody knows and sees it
was a justified red card. That's you know, so all
her arguments are ridiculous. But yet but to me, so
her arguments are silly. But let that go. As I
like to say, it's going to tank the run of
(08:50):
the United States. Well, now nobody's going to really vote
for the United States. No one's going to root for
the US. Well why not, because now it's tainted because
the president made a phone call. Well, why where does
it say where does it say that the president can
make a phone call. Show me the law. What rule
(09:13):
says that the president of the United States or any
country can't call and complain to one of the most
notoriously corrupt bodies in the world. Like, why do we
have to accept corruption in soccer? Why do we have
to accept blatant bad calls or injustice in soccer? In
other words, just because Biden would take it lying down
(09:36):
or Obama would take it lying down, doesn't mean Trump
has to take it lying down. I mean, don't you
want your president to fight for your country, to fight
for your team, to fight for your players, especially when
they've been screwed and in a blatant way. It got
even worse because a fief decision to revoke the red
(10:02):
card and let Baligan play. I swear to you, the Democrats,
the left, the media began to root against Team USA.
You want to see how bad it's now gotten. They
(10:24):
literally started to root and cheer against their own country
simply because President Trump made the right, brave decision to
call FIFA and have a horrible call reversed.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
You're locked into Boston's Bulldozer. The Kuner Report weekend edition,
The Voice of Boston WRKO
Boston's Bulldozer operates seven days a week. The Kuner Report
weekend edition w RKO, the Voice of Boston.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
All right, this has now become the biggest story in
the entire world. I'm not exaggerating, I'm not kidding. So
President Trump gives makes a phone call to the president
to FIFA, who he happens to know, and all he
tells the president of FIFA is could you just review
(00:28):
that red card call? Look at the video you'll see
what I mean. He goes, it's not a red card. Hell,
it's not even a yellow card. And if you believe
it's not a red card, can you then, you know,
resend it because we need this guy Balligan for the
big game against Belgium yesterday. Now listen to President Trump.
He's asked by reporters, they've been all over this. You
(00:52):
would think this is the second coming of Watergate. He said, yeah,
I picked up the phone. I called, and I said,
would you take a look at review the red card?
Roll cut thirteen, Mike, he.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Didn't do anything wrong, and he's our best player, or
one of our best players a very any game a
red card. I didn't know what that meant. I didn't
think it meant much. Then I started hearing that that
means you can't play in the next game, at least
in the next game. I said, boy, that's a big
You know, if it happened to another player, it would
have been unfair. But when they take your best player
(01:28):
or just about they have some great players, but and
they say you can't play, that's very unfair. That's you know,
it's one thing to pedalize somebody for the game, but
how do you penalize them for a game that hasn't
been played yet. It's very unfair. You can't do that. So, yes,
I asked for a review by FIFA. I spoke to
(01:50):
a man who's highly respected.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, another he spoke to the president of FIFA, and
he said, could you take a look at it now?
I'm telling you, if please look at the foul yourself,
go online, you'll see what I mean. Everybody, and I
mean practically everybody unless you're blind or you're so you
know you're willfully blind because you're consumed with TBS trumped
(02:16):
arrangement syndrome. You're like, that's not a red card, that's
not even a yellow card. That's okay, maybe a foul
I guess so. In other words, it was a clear
gross injustice. It was wrong. And finally a president, a
leader of a country, finally said, you know what, No,
(02:38):
I'm not putting up with this. Our boys got robbed.
It was a horrible call. By the way, FIFA is
notoriously corrupt. Their referees are notoriously corrupt for throwing games
or getting people kicked out of games, or giving them
red cards they don't deserve, so they're out of that
(02:58):
game or they're going to be out of the next game.
And Trump picked up the phone and said, blank you no,
I want you to take a look at it. No,
we didn't threaten him. He you know, he didn't say
we're gonna you know, you're gonna sleep in the thing,
you know, like Luca Bratzi, You're gonna be sleeping with
the fishes. He just said, look, can you take a
look at it? Because to me, this is blatantly unfair. Now,
(03:18):
FIFA sided with Trump, okay, almost unprecedented. Not unprecedented, but
almost unprecedented because they have rescinded red cards in the past.
Okay for big players, special players. FIFA came out and said, no,
we sided with President Trump. He's right, and they rescinded
the red card, meaning Balligan could play, and he did
(03:42):
play against Belgium yesterday. I am telling you when I
say a public firestorm erupted, it is an understatement. It
became overnight, the biggest in the world, the liberal media
(04:05):
going berserk, the Europeans, especially the European left, apoplectic, the
sports media and they're the worst in this country, ESPN, Fox,
all these woke idiots. This is so unfair. How dare
they rescind a red card? That's just not done. You
(04:29):
have to respect the referee, you have to respect the system,
and so listen to this. By the way, some Democrats
were saying they should impeach Trump on this. This was corrupt,
this was political interference. He's ruining soccer. This was wrong
(04:53):
on every level. And I'm looking at all this and
I'm like, okay, was it a clear injustice. Yes, Did
Baligan deserve that red card? Absolutely not. Why can't the
leader call up the head of FIFA and say, hey, look,
(05:13):
you guys are going to decide what you're going to decide.
But I'm telling you that wasn't a yellow card or
a red card or whatever. Could you guys, take a
look at it. Do me a favor, because my countrymen,
you know, and country women, you know, my fellow Americans,
they're a livid about this. This is going to maybe
cost us the game, and there cost us are running
(05:35):
the World Cup now when you see injustice done to
your team, to your country, and remember they're representing the
United States and whatever you think of soccer as a sport,
and I know many of you say is like watching
grass grow. I get it. But the FIFA World Cup
(05:57):
is the Super Bowl. Pales in comparison in terms of viewership.
You're looking at three point five maybe four billion viewers
around the world. No other sport comes close. It is
the biggest international stage in sports, probably in anything. All
(06:18):
eyes are on the United States were the co host.
This is gonna be Yesterday's game was the biggest game
in US soccer history. And we're not going to be
playing with our best player. Not because he's injured or
there was a justified red card that's something else, but
(06:38):
because a shady referee decided to stick it to Uncle Sam.
And they often do that to American players and give
him a bogus BS red card that anybody looks at
and says no, that's clearly not a red card. So
Trump is standing up for our country, our players in
(07:00):
the World Cup and gets a horrible decision rescinded. And
yet he's the olgre he's the bad guy, he's the dictator,
he's the monster. The left went ballistic. I want you
to listen. Now. This is Kate Andrews from the Washington Post.
(07:25):
She goes on MS now, she's one of their sports writers.
Roll cut sixteen, Mike.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
Other teams will not be happy about this, But the
biggest impact that this has is USA soccer fans. I
think the President has misunderstood the beautiful game. Part of
it is that you don't always get the call you want.
There's real disappointment, there's the hope that kills you. This
is part of the beauty of soccer, and the point
is that you have to triumph over what are often
perceived to be unfair calls. If you were watching England
(07:55):
play last night, they got a red card, but you
don't see the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom calling
up to ask for that to be changed, not least
because England has gone through and they continue to be
in the knockout rounds. I think the biggest disappointment for
me anyway, I'm sure for a lot of Americans is
if the USA continues to advance and this is one
of their best World Cups in decades. I think a
lot of people out there will feel like it was unfair,
(08:16):
like they didn't actually win it, because part of it
is that you have to overcome the adversity and what
are perceived sometimes be unfair calls. You can't have people
calling up making a phone call in your favor to
get you the win.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
This is unbelievable. First of all, England did end up winning,
even though they got a red card number two. It
was a justified red card. Everybody knows and sees it
was a justified red card. That's you know, so all
her arguments are ridiculous. But yet but to me, so
her arguments are silly. But let that go. As I
like to say, it's going to tank the run of
(08:50):
the United States. Well, now nobody's going to really vote
for the United States. No one's going to root for
the US. Well why not, because now it's tainted because
the president made a phone call. Well, why where does
it say where does it say that the president can
make a phone call. Show me the law. What rule
(09:13):
says that the president of the United States or any
country can't call and complain to one of the most
notoriously corrupt bodies in the world. Like, why do we
have to accept corruption in soccer? Why do we have
to accept blatant bad calls or injustice in soccer? In
other words, just because Biden would take it lying down
(09:36):
or Obama would take it lying down, doesn't mean Trump
has to take it lying down. I mean, don't you
want your president to fight for your country, to fight
for your team, to fight for your players, especially when
they've been screwed and in a blatant way. It got
even worse because a fief decision to revoke the red
(10:02):
card and let Baligan play. I swear to you, the Democrats,
the left, the media began to root against Team USA.
You want to see how bad it's now gotten. They
(10:24):
literally started to root and cheer against their own country
simply because President Trump made the right, brave decision to
call FIFA and have a horrible call reversed.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
You're locked into Boston's Bulldozer. The Kuner Report weekend edition,
The Voice of Boston WRKO
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