The United States Men’s National Team secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their 2026 World Cup Round of 32 clash, but the triumph was overshadowed by a highly controversial straight red card shown to star forward Folarin Balogun.
Balogun, who plays his club football for AS Monaco and previously came through the ranks at Arsenal, had put the USA 1-0 up on the stroke of half-time. However, midway through the second half, his match came to an abrupt end. Following a VAR review, Brazilian referee Raphael Claus dismissed Balogun for a foul on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic. Slow-motion replays of the incident reportedly made the contact appear far more serious than it was in real time, a point that has since drawn significant criticism.
Pochettino and expert Davies dispute decision
The decision has ignited a fierce debate, with USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino and VAR expert Andy Davies both strongly disagreeing with the call. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Pochettino expressed his frustration.
“For me it’s never a red card. Watching after on TV… there was never intention to step on the player. [It’s] a normal action in football that happened by accident. It’s never intentional. That is why for me it’s never a red card. I think today, the 50/50 decisions, not one went for us,” Pochettino told the Independent.
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VAR expert Andy Davies echoed this sentiment in his ESPN column, suggesting that the VAR protocol itself may have been misapplied. “Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offence,” Davies wrote. He elaborated, “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.”
Davies further highlighted a potential breach of VAR guidelines: “VAR made their recommendation to the referee based on slow-motion and still replays, which is not aligned with VAR protocols, as these should be used for only point-of-contact purposes in a red card tackle situation. Once at the screen, however, it would have been a surprise if the referee did not send off Balogun considering the pictures he was presented by VAR.”
Balogun’s absence a major blow for Belgium clash
Despite playing the final 25 minutes with 10 men, the USMNT managed to extend their lead, with Malik Tillman doubling the joint-hosts’ advantage late on to secure the 2-0 victory in Santa Clara. The win sets up a last 16 encounter with Belgium on Monday night, who themselves came back from 2-0 down to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time.
However, the USA will be without their top scorer for that crucial fixture. Balogun, who has netted three goals in the tournament so far, is automatically suspended. A FIFA official confirmed to The Athletic that there is no mechanism for appealing a red card or subsequent suspension, with FIFA regulations Article 66.4 stating: “A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.”
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Pochettino confirmed Balogun’s dismay, noting, “He’s very disappointed and he’s sad. It wasn’t his intention. We can do nothing to change that feeling.” The USA will now face Belgium without their key attacking threat, a significant challenge stemming from a decision that many believe was unjust.
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