Folarin Balogun’s World Cup red card: Pochettino, U.S. stars weigh in on VAR decision

SANTA CLARA — Folarin Balogun had an eventful Wednesday night at Levi’s Stadium.

He ignited the heavily pro-American sellout crowd with his goal in the 45th minute, an opportunistic deflected shot off a defensive misplay from Bosnia and Herzegovina that got the Americans on the board right before the half.

Then midway through the second half of the Americans’ 2-0 win, his cleat dug into the right ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic, sending him off for the rest of the game after a video assistant referee review deemed his action a “serious foul” worthy of a red card.

The foul did not receive even a yellow card on the field prior to the video room instituting a review.

So, off Balogun went to the locker room, taking the long, solitary walk to decompress and watch the final minutes with no control over the outcome.

The call did not just affect Wednesday’s game, either. The red card carries an automatic suspension for the following match, which will keep Balogun out of the United States’ match Monday against Belgium in the round of 16.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino did not know after the game whether the Americans could appeal the suspension but appeared ready to exhaust the possible avenues to challenge it. He was then told that it was not possible to do so.

“For me, never a red card,” Pochettino said. “We were watching on TV after. It never was the intention to step on the player. That was a normal action in football that happened by accident, and it’s never intentional.”

Balogun’s teammates tried to pick him up after the game.

“We told him after – not just me – it’s not anything he’s done wrong,” defender and captain Tim Ream said. “We have each other’s back. It’s a shame but at the same time we told him we have another game and will try to get another win so he has another game.”

Christian Pulisic said the decision “seems so harsh,” adding, “for him to miss the next game, it’s ridiculous for something like that.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport does have an appeal process for multiple-game suspensions, though. A suspension for a red-card foul has only been overturned a small number of times historically. One notable example came in 2024, when Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes’ red card was overturned by the Football Association of England.

That change negated a three-game suspension. Balogun is expected to only miss the United States’ next game, but that could be their only remaining World Cup match.

“He’s disappointed,” Pochettino said of Balogun. “He’s very disappointed, because I think this was an action that wasn’t intentional. And he’s sad, and also he’s happy, because we qualified. But disappointed.

“It’s difficult to do nothing. We cannot do anything to change that feeling. But he for sure is going to help us to perform, and hope that we can go win the next one and be able to play again.”

Argentina’s Lionel Messi committed a similar offense in group play against Algeria that was not called a red card, a comparison former U.S. players Taylor Twellman and Jermaine Jones, as well as many others, made on social media in the immediate aftermath.

Balogun did not speak to reporters after the game due to FIFA red card regulations. It undoubtedly helped the postgame mood that despite going down to 10 men, the U.S. held the line and then went up two goals on Malik Tillman’s gorgeous bending free kick that elevated and then dipped with topspin over the Bosnian wall in the 82nd minute.

“He’s a great player,” Tillman said of Balogun. “He’s our top star so far. Of course, we’re going to miss him, but I think we have great players who can replace him and do the best they can, and hopefully score some goals for us as well.”