An ESPN writer is accusing the USMNT's World Cup success of being "tainted" in the wake of the Folarin Balogun decision.
FIFA announced on Sunday morning that Balogun's red card was being suspended. Balogun, the U.S.'s top striker, had been hit with a red card during the Round of 32 win over Bosnia. That meant he would miss the Round of 16 game against Belgium. However, FIFA decided to suspend the red card, making him eligible to play tonight.
"USA striker Folarin Balogun will be available to play in the co-host’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match against Belgium on Monday at Seattle Stadium. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee issued an update on Sunday on the status of the 25-year-old New York-born attacker, who has three goals for the Stars & Stripes at these global finals," FIFA announced.
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ESPN senior writer Mark Ogden is accusing the U.S's World Cup success of now being "tainted."
"If the U.S. defeats Belgium on Monday, the global soccer community will not view it as a hard-fought, tactical triumph… Instead, it will forever carry an asterisk, tainted by the perception that the host nation used corrupt, backroom political maneuvers to alter the tournament's rules," he wrote.
He added: "That is the key point, and one that hints at the U.S. benefiting from special privileges. There is a process that appears to have been thrown into the bin for an outcome that suits the co-host. It has set a dangerous precedent. What happens if Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappé receives a red card in the games to come? Will they also be given disciplinary immunity?"
UEFA remains furious with the decision, too
UEFA is not happy, either.
"Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition," UEFA said. "Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not. A minimum automatic suspension of one match following a red card is not a discretionary option and does not require the decision of a competent body to be enacted. It is a principle embedded in regulations, which cannot be made subject to exceptions, let alone in the middle of a tournament where several other players have been in the same situation and regularly served their suspension."
