The red card handed to U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun will be remembered as a central turning point for the Americans in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The public outcry has been palpable as fans have relayed their dissatisfaction with the red card, especially given the repercussions of call. Balogun won’t play in the Round of 16 as the USMNT takes on Belgium next week because of the red card.
He will miss the team’s most important match of the tournament thus far.
Bruce Arena is in the minority when it comes to Balogun’s red card. In an appearance on the FanDuel Network, Arena outlined why Brazilian referee Raphael Claus made the right call.
“Intent doesn’t matter. It’s a dangerous play and that fall he could’ve broken the player’s ankle. And obviously, there’s no intent by Balogun. It’s unfortunate, but you got to take into account the safety of the player,” Arena said.
“If the referee issued a yellow card, I could see that. But with VAR calling the referee over and he sees that foul in slow motion, I think it’s conceivable that he’s going to issue a red card.”
Arena is a former two-time USMNT coach, leading the AMericans at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
The ’02 World Cup was the high point of Arena’ career, leading an underdog USMNT squad to a 3-2 victory over Portugal in the opening match. After qualifying fo rthe next round, Arena’s squad stunned Mexico to reach the quarterfinals. A hard-fought match ended in a 1-0 loss to Germany despite the Americans dominating for much of the match.
USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino defended Balogun following the team’s 2-0 victory over Bosnia Herzegovina Wednesday in the Round of 32.
“For me? Never a red card. Never an intention to step on the player,” Pochettino said.
“It was a normal action in football that happened by accident.”
If the USMNT falls to Belgium Monday, the red card will continue to be scrutinized for years to come.
