The USMNT won a knockout match in the World Cup after 24 years. However, they will be without one of their best players in the round of 16 clash against Belgium, as Folarin Balogun saw a red card. A new technicality has now come to light, preventing the US from appealing the controversial sending-off.
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Yesterday, Folarin Balogun became the first player to both score and see a red card in the same World Cup knockout match since Zinedine Zidane in 2006. Balogun scored in the last minute of the first half and was later on the receiving end of a harsh red card after he tangled legs with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic.
The USMNT had to defend a 1-0 lead for the final quarter of the game. They did so brilliantly and even scored through a Malik Tillman free-kick to reach the pre-quarters. With Balogun suspended for a single game, it was a no-brainer for the USA to launch an appeal since the red card was deemed harsh and soft by many.
The USA spokesperson has recently learned from a FIFA spokesperson that they cannot appeal a single-game ban in the knockouts. It was clearly laid out in the FIFA rule book as reported by The Athletic.
The 9.6 regulation in the rule book states, “No protests may be made about the referee’s decisions regarding facts connected with play. Such decisions are final and not subject to appeal, unless otherwise stipulated in the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
🚨🇺🇸 𝗡𝗘𝗪: USA national team officials want to appeal the red card to Folarin Balogun.
However, FIFA sources have confirmed there is not a way or a form established to appeal a red card shown in World Cups in their disciplinary code.
— @AdamCrafton_ pic.twitter.com/Zcof9vTVFT
— The Touchline | 𝐓 (@TouchlineX) July 2, 2026
It will come as an untimely blow to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, as Balogun has scored three goals for the USMNT at the World Cup. The coach also felt that Balogun was on the end of a very harsh call.
“For me, never is it a red card. It was a normal action in football that happened by accident. There was never any intention … and that is why, for me, it is never a red card,” Pochettino said during the post-match press conference.
Any suspension in the group stage or even ahead of the tournament could’ve been appealed. Portugal’s icon, Cristiano Ronaldo, saw a red card in a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, but FIFA reduced his three-match ban to one match and two suspended bans (for the first time in history) so that he could compete at the World Cup.
But given this is the knockout phase, Balogun couldn’t expect any reprieve and will be forced to watch the Belgium game from the sidelines.
