Nathan Kalman-Lamb

@nkalamb

🍉; “Happiness Vampire”; Assoc Prof of Soc; social theory + sport; words in The Guardian etc; co-host @endofsportpod.bsky.social; he/him; plz order *The End of College Football*:

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 25d

“new”

Today, @StateDept is imposing new visa restrictions to bar Far-Left Terrorists from entering our country.

Foreigners who finance, incite, or aid and abet Far-Left Terrorists are enemies of our civilization. They are not welcome in the United States.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 28d

To be clear: this is a racist premise. Soccer is the sport of multicultural diversity in Canada. Hockey is whiteness incarnate. This is far louder than a dog whistle.

Forever trailing in European soccer’s wake, Canada should just stick to hockey

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 28d

This is a huge scandal. The University of Michigan has reportedly deliberately avoided producing a written report of an investigation into its Athletic Department to circumvent the possibility of FOIA requests. These people can’t be entrusted to care for campus athletic workers.

An FYI regarding the University of Michigan investigation into the athletic department. No physical report was compiled and issued. Regents were briefed orally recently on the findings, which were critical of the AD and others at the university.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 28d

This is simply indefensible. A lot of folks are showing themselves.

I got to know Senator Lindsey Graham traveling with him abroad in Afghanistan and Ukraine. We had just met to renew the fight for our Big Tech bill.

Even though we disagreed on much, he was always willing to negotiate, with humor and wit.

My heart goes out to his loved ones.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 28d

What could the reason be?

Op-Ed from @SecRubio: Why We’re Dismantling the ICC

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· 29d

It’s truly perfect that they lost anyway.

There are 18 members of FIFA's disciplinary committee but the unprecedented decision to lift Balogun's automatic ban was taken by just one person - the chairman Mohammad Al Kamali of UAE. No one else was consulted.
Full story:

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 11

👀

Israeli settlers, brandishing American made M4s, detained me & other Americans on my trip to Palestine.

When the IDF arrived, they sided with the settlers & continued our detention.

They made a huge mistake.

You will be hearing more soon. nytimes.com/2026/07/11/us/…

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 8

I’m not talking about Messi

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 8

That this Argentine player still hasn’t received a red for this egregiously blatant rules violation is an ongoing scandal.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 8

Duke University, which has recently increased class sizes, has raised cost of attendance to an incredible $96,597 per year. Congratulations to the investors in this exceptionally profitable hedge fund. www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke...

Duke’s Board of Trustees approved a 4.95% increase in the undergraduate cost of attendance in February, pushing the total price tag up to $96,597 for students not on financial aid. Tuition alone comprises $73,740 of the total cost, and the main driver of next year's $4,555 overall increase in cost of attendance is a $3,475 tuition hike, also a 4.95% increase.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 7

‘won’

Argentina won this match.

#FIFAWorldCup

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 7

Ball don’t lie.

Pulisic with head in hands after his pathetic performance

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 7

In a press conference today, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said that the suffering of Palestinians is a “shame of the world,” adding anyone who has not felt that suffering “has no humanity.” Amen. The most important moment of the tournament so far.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan says at the World Cup that the suffering of the Palestinian people is a “shame on the world” as he calls on the world of soccer to do more to come to their aid.

Hassan waved a Palestinian flag after the Pharaohs beat Australia on penalties on Friday to reach the World Cup last 16, where they will meet defending champions Argentina tomorrow.

“If there is someone who has not felt the suffering of the Palestinian people then he or she has no humanity,” Hassan says in a lengthy address to a question on the subject at his pre-match press conference in Atlanta.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

FIFA HAD TO DISABLE THE REPLIES

FIFA post announcing Infantjno’s response to the Trump interference news with replies disabled

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

A UK MP has now written to Infantino asking that the red card suspension to Quansah be delayed. This is doubly hilarious in that it should actually result in the expulsion of England from the World Cup. sports.yahoo.com/articles/u-k...

A Labour lawmaker has urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to delay the suspension of England player Jarell Quansah and allow him to play against Belgium after the England defender received a red card in Sunday's game against Mexico.

"Whilst I believe that it was right for Jarell Quansah to have received this red card and that refereeing rules must be applied consistently, I believe it would be right to delay his suspension until after the completion of this World Cup," Noah Law wrote in a letter to Infantino.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

And Trump confirms he violated FIFA statutes.

Donald Trump said on Monday that he personally asked Fifa president Gianni Infantino to review the red card shown to USA striker Folarin Balogun, saying he believed the dismissal was unfair but insisting he did not pressure football’s governing body to overturn the suspension.

“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I didn’t tell him what to do. I can’t tell him what to do.”

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

Trump on Harry Kane: “I think Kane is a great player. I played golf with him and I like him a lot. He’s a good golfer. But he’s really great.” lmaoooooo www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Trump also singled out the England captain, Harry Kane, for praise. “I don’t know the players, although I think Kane is a great player,” Trump said. “I played golf with him and I like him a lot. He’s a good golfer. But he’s really great.”

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

This is actually hilarious. www.nytimes.com/athletic/742...

France appeals to FIFA over Michael Olise yellow card vs Paraguay

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

This UEFA statement on Balogun should immediately be deployed against them on the question of Israel. If “the certainty of rules” is required for the “integrity of the game” then Israel must be immediately expelled for violating UEFA statutes. www.uefa.com/news-media/n...

When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake and the credibility of a competition is undermined. Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

Belgium announces that FIFA has concocted an appeals process that does not follow its own rules in order to justify immediately dismissing the appeal that was not even formally filed by Belgium. www.rbfa.be/en/news/upda...

After learning through media reports of FIFA’s decision to lift the automatic suspension of player Balogun, the RBFA sent a letter to FIFA requesting a copy of the decision, an explanation of the process that had been followed, and setting out its position regarding the applicable regulations.

As its only response, FIFA sent a letter to the RBFA stating that it considered this correspondence to constitute an appeal, that a judge had been appointed, and that the RBFA had only a few hours to complete that appeal. No information whatsoever was provided by FIFA.

For an appeal to be admissible, FIFA’s own regulations state that the reasoned decision must first have been communicated to the appellant. While the RBFA was merely seeking legitimate explanations, FIFA itself created an appeal and immediately ensured that it would be declared inadmissible.

All of this occurred while FIFA simultaneously refused to respond to the RBFA’s legitimate requests.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 6

Good explainer on FIFA political interference rules here. www.andymuirhead.com/p/fifas-rule...

FIFA’s statutes are built on the idea that football must be governed by football people, not politicians. Article 2(2) states that “government interference of any kind in the electoral process or composition of the elective body (general assembly or congress) of the association is not permitted” and that “government rules on elections shall not apply to the elected internal bodies of the association”. Article 15(c) goes further, requiring that member associations’ statutes “shall in particular contain, at a minimum, make provisions relating to the independence of the member association and avoidance of any form of political interference”.

These rules are not abstract. FIFA has repeatedly suspended national federations when governments or courts have tried to take control of their affairs.

Yet the principle is not limited to elections. It is about the independence of football associations as bodies, not just their personnel. Any external pressure from a minister, a court, or a head of state that seeks to dictate disciplinary outcomes, selection decisions, or operational matters is a breach of this principle. The USA’s case is not subtle, President Trump lobbied someone at FIFA directly - be it Infantino or one of his cronies - to urge Balogun’s red card be overturned, with his administration supplying additional evidence to support an appeal that was never formally lodged by the US Soccer Federation - in fact, according to FIFA rules during this World Cup, the red card couldn’t be appealed.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 5

Can’t imagine why I thought it was shameful to flaunt the US flag for this tournament. After all, it only started with the USMNT social media account proudly sharing a clip of the President talking to the team. Who could have seen this coming?

More on President Trump's call to Gianni Infantino.

It was communicated directly to the FIFA President that Trump felt the punishment was unjust. Other White House figures also lobbied FIFA.

US Soccer say they were "engaged" in the process and argued slow motion replays distorted the incident.

FIFA insist the decision to suspend Balogun's red card was made by an independent panel.

Yet the Royal Belgian Football Association say they are "astonished" by the decision, adding Article 27 does not allow for a suspended punishment under these circumstances.

RBFA exploring all options, including going to CAS. Any appeal could also come after the game if Belgium are knocked out.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb· Jul 5

“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026…” Belgium FA says it is “investigating all potential options.”