The sensible starting point is that FIFA always tries to protect the legitimacy of its own procedures, because if that falls apart then every other decision gets dragged into the same mess. But this story is so badly timed and so politically loaded that it is impossible to separate the football from the optics anymore. Once you have a direct call from the White House in the mix, every statement about independence sounds like damage control, and that is before you even get into the general reputation FIFA already had. It is the kind of thing that makes people roll their eyes at the entire sport, and honestly I get it, because the governing bodies keep acting like they are above scrutiny and then wonder why nobody believes them when the pressure is on, absolute joke of a setup and they can shove the legal language where the sun doesnt shine