The U.S. Men’s National Team beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the World Cup Round of 32 on Thursday. But the story everyone’s still talking about is that red card on Folarin Balogun.
It happened around the 61st minute at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Balogun and Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic went for a 50-50 ball. Their legs got tangled. Muharemovic went down grabbing his shin and stayed there. The referee pulled out a red card, and the U.S. was down to 10 men for the final half hour plus stoppage time.
The play that set off a firestorm
Video replays don’t make the call look any clearer. Balogun’s foot appeared to clip Muharemovic’s ankle, but it didn’t look intentional or reckless — more like two guys colliding at full speed. The U.S. striker immediately threw his hands up in disbelief. He wasn’t alone.
Fans on social media went after the decision hard. One person on X wrote, “These refs need to be more consistent! There have been so many instances like that that didn’t even get a YELLOW! What a joke! If this is a red so should have Messi’s foul.” Another said, “Garbage call. Both going after the ball and he got caught on his ankle. How do you go from nothing to a red?”
TV analysts and NFL stars weigh in
CBS Sports soccer analyst Michael Lahoud didn’t hold back. “It was a sham, I thought it was an absolute disgrace,” he said on air.
Some surprising voices from outside the soccer world chimed in too. Former NFL star and Super Bowl winner Jason Kelce posted a long reaction on social media. “Man, somebody help me. That foul looked incidental from Balogun, shouldn’t a Red Card be given if there is either intention to foul, or an action that is aggressive and unsafe in nature?” Kelce asked. “Didn’t feel like Balogun was out of control or anything. Just looked like it kind of happened.”
ESPN personality Pat McAfee, another Super Bowl champ, kept it shorter. He just posted a video with the caption “A RED CARD!?!??? WHATTTTTT” and a clip showing the incident.
The U.S. somehow held on
Despite being a man down for the last 25-plus minutes, the U.S. defense tightened up and kept Bosnia off the board. They actually added a second goal late to seal it. So the team advances to the Round of 16, where they’ll face Belgium.
But Balogun will be suspended for that game. That’s a real problem for a U.S. attack that already struggles to create chances. The team hasn’t said whether they’ll appeal the red card, but given the public outcry and the split reactions from analysts, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they tried.
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