The United States men's national team punched their ticket to the Round of 16 on Wednesday night, but unfortunately they lost Folarin Balogun to a controversial red card.
Referee Raphael Claus gave Balogun a red card in the 63rd minute after he made contact with Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic. Although a red card wasn't initially given on the field, VAR recommended an on-field review. A few moments later, Balogun was sent off the pitch.
USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino was understandably furious with the call, especially since Balogun is now set to miss Monday's match against Belgium.
"For me, never is it a red card," Pochettino said. "Never was there intention to step on the player. If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that was a normal action in football that you are, you know, fighting for the ball and your feet land, no?"
Speaking of the USMNT's upcoming match, FIFA confirmed that Balogun won't be allowed to appeal his red card.
"A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match," a FIFA official told The Athletic. "The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures."
© Carlos Barria-Reuters via Imagn Images
Was it the right call?
Andy Davies, a former referee who has experience with the Premier League, believes VAR made the wrong call during Wednesday's game.
"Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offense," Davies wrote. "With both players challenging for ball, the contact from Balogun on Muharemovic, while it looked bad in slow motion, was purely accidental and an unfortunate result from two players challenging for possession of the ball in a normal football movement."
The USMNT will need to defeat Belgium on Monday in order to get Balogun back in the starting lineup.
