Folarin Balogun is set to miss the United States’ World Cup Round of 16 game against Belgium after he received a red card in the USMNT’s 2-0 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun was sent off in the 64th minute for a seemingly accidental foul on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarek Muharemovic as they were playing the ball. The foul was not deemed card-worthy by referee Raphael Claus, but he was sent to the monitor by VAR official Juan Soto as replays showed Muharemovic’s ankle turned when Balogun stepped on him.
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USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino strongly disagreed with the decision.
“For me, never is it a red card,” Pochettino said during the post-match press conference. “It was a normal action in football that happened by accident. There was never any intention … and that is why, for me, it is never a red card.”
Once Balogun was sent off, the United States was forced to play the rest of the game with 10 men. And Balogun’s hopes of playing in the next round disappeared.
As soon as Balogun was sent off, there were hopes from fans on social media that the United States could appeal the penalty. Pochettino also initially wondered whether the U.S. could challenge the suspension.
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“We need to talk about if we can appeal,” he said after the match. “It would be fair to appeal and demonstrate that it wasn’t a red card.”
Reporters, however, informed him during the press conference that FIFA’s rules do not allow an appeal of this type of sending off.
According to FIFA’s rule book, “if a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card [for a second yellow card], they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match.” Rule 10.5 also specifies that further penalties can be added.
Nothing in the section about yellow and red cards says anything about the one-match ban being subject to an appeal. And that fact was confirmed to the Athletic by FIFA sources late Wednesday night.
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If Balogun had been sent off for a red card for violent conduct, then the appeals process could have been brought into play. A violent conduct red card results in a three-match ban, though FIFA has shown it’s willing to reduce that penalty as teams can appeal it.
Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo got a red card for an elbow during Portugal’s World Cup qualifying campaign and the ensuing three-match ban would have forced him to miss two World Cup matches.
However, that three-match ban was reduced to one with two of the games deferred. The 41-year-old Ronaldo has played every minute of Portugal’s three World Cup matches so far.
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Pochettino said Balogun was devastated by the decision but relieved the U.S. still advanced.
“He’s disappointed. He’s sad because it wasn’t his intention,” Pochettino said. But he’s also happy because we qualified.
Without Balogun on the field, the United States’ task gets a lot tougher against Belgium. Balogun has been the team’s best attacking player and leads the USMNT with three goals in four games. Without him on the field, Pochettino could choose to start Ricardo Pepi up front, or place Christian Pulisic as the team’s striker with another player like Timothy Weah inserted into the lineup on the wing.
