How will the USMNT cope without suspended star str...
Key takeaways
- Striker Folarin Balogun's 64th-minute red card, following a lengthy VAR review, has created a sense of injustice not seen since 2002.
- Once again, USMNT fans feel hard done by, and despite a tsunami of wishful thinking, Balogun's red card is not being overturned by the great and powerful FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
- As a result, Balogun will miss the USMNT's round-of-16 encounter against Belgium.
Why this matters: a sports story that could shift standings, legacies, or fan conversations.
Striker Folarin Balogun's 64th-minute red card, following a lengthy VAR review, has created a sense of injustice not seen since 2002. That was when Germany's Torsten Frings handling of defender Gregg Berhalter's header off the line went unpunished, helping to eliminate the Americans at the quarterfinal stage of that year's World Cup.
Once again, USMNT fans feel hard done by, and despite a tsunami of wishful thinking, Balogun's red card is not being overturned by the great and powerful FIFA Disciplinary Committee. Its statutes prevent such an attempt from even being made - outside of mistaken identity - bringing to mind the old Billy Bragg lyric, "And the judge said, 'This isn't a court of justice, son. This is a court of law.'"
As a result, Balogun will miss the USMNT's round-of-16 encounter against Belgium. The only appeal that can take place is to reduce a multi-game suspension, if that is indeed what Balogun receives.