Team USA star Falorin Balogun was sent off with a red card in the team’s win on Wednesday, but one soccer expert believes that officials violated the World Cup’s own protocol on video reviews.
Balogun was assessed a red card after he made contact with Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic while trying to play a ball, kicking the defender on the back of the ankle. Officials reviewed the play using the video assistant referee (VAR), which ESPN’s Andy Davies said was against the rules for replays of fouls.
Though Team USA was able to escape with a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina thanks in part to Balogun’s opening goal, the red card casts a shadow as they move on to face a favored Belgium team.
Falorin Balogun Wrongly Sent Off, Expert Argues
In his assessment of the call, Davies noted that the World Cup has already endured several controversies with the VAR. Davies suggested that Balogun’s collision with the Bosnian defender did not warrant a red card, saying it was “purely accidental” contact from two players going for the ball.
“Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red card offense,” Davies wrote. “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 added that the World Cup officials assessed the red card against the protocol for using VAR, though acknowledged that it would be hard for officials not to assess a red card given the replays they used.
“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,” Davies wrote. “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.”
Others Agree With Falorin Balogun Red Card
The Athletic’s Graham Scott took another view on Balogun’s red card, saying it was unfortunate but inevitable given the way VAR can take what were once judgment calls made in real time and slow them down to emphasize even incidental contact.
“I would prefer tackles like this to produce cautions at worst,” Scott wrote, noting that officials opted against a red card for star Lionel Messi in a similar situation earlier in the World Cup.
Scott noted that there are other examples of players being assessed a red card in similar situations, however.
“In the spirit of the law, Balogun was unlucky. But in its recent interpretation, a red card was inevitable,” Scott wrote.
Team USA will have no recourse to contest the red card, as World Cup rules dictate that officials can only choose to extend Balogun’s automatic suspension beyond the next round if needed — not overturn it.
Falorin Balogun Controversy: World Cup Officials Accused of Violating Replay Rules for Red Card