The USMNT was the talk of the soccer world in the aftermath of its triumph over Bosnia and Herzegovina last Wednesday. Most of the conversation was about the latest amazing U.S. performance in a tournament full of them, and the growing consensus that the Americans should be considered overwhelming favorites to go ahead and win the World Cup. However, a sizable portion of the discussion also centered on the referee's scandalous decision to show U.S. striker Folarin Balogun a totally unfair red card for an accidental challenge. The brave Americans were prepared to suffer this miscarriage of justice in dignified silence, and to face Belgium without Balogun. Thankfully, FIFA, an organization known for its commitment to fairness and ethics, stepped in on Sunday and suspended Balogun's one-game suspension.
To a small, blinkered minority, FIFA's action smacks of favoritism and corruption. "What they hell!" you might hear one such person say, in a suspiciously French-ish or Dutch-ish accent. "They can't do that! The guy got a red card, he has to pay the price!" Ah, but surely this person will admit—or would admit, if they weren't blinded by impotent rage over the Americans' impending ticker-tape parade—that the initial call on the field was completely fraudulent, both on the merits and procedurally.
As for the merits, the play was a simple coming together of two players both reaching their legs out to collect the ball. Sure, Balogun's contact on Tarik Muharemovic's ankle was unfortunate, but it was unintentional and wasn't at all reckless, and therefore should never have elicited a red card. As for the procedure, former Premier League ref Andy Davies noted in an article on ESPN that VAR erred when it presented lead referee Raphael Claus with still and slow-motion images of the challenge. VAR protocols say that referees should review plays of that sort at real-time speed. Likely this procedural mistake was the underlying justification for FIFA's correct decision to overturn the one-game suspension Balogun was set to serve due to the erroneous red, though FIFA has not at this point fully explained its thinking here.
"Oh come on," said interlocutor might retort, "that's a bunch of bullshit! Sure, maybe it was a harsh red, and maybe the VAR flubbed by not playing the replay back to Claus at normal speed, but what happened happened! You can't re-referee it after the fact! FIFA's own rules don't even allow for post facto appeals at the World Cup! Plus, far harsher and more blatantly unjust calls happen all the time, and the powers that be always side with the call on the field!" Clearly this person is overlooking the fact that just because different soccer officials do the wrong thing most of the time doesn't mean these officials should do the wrong thing here just to maintain consistency. On top of that, there is indeed precedent for this kind of thing. Heading into the tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo was set to serve a three-game ban for a violent conduct red card he received in a match between Portugal and Ireland. However, FIFA suspended two games of that ban by the same mechanism they are using for Balogun now, which meant Ronaldo was eligible to play in Portugal's first two matches of the present World Cup. So it's not like this has never happened before.
Alas, the stubborn and hateful person might continue: "You've got to be kidding me! Are you really trying to get anyone to believe that FIFA, an infamously corrupt organization currently run by a man who would eagerly lap the crusted shit out of Donald Trump's asscrack if asked, is acting on the up and up here? It's so obvious that Gianni Infantino did this as a favor to the host country he has already bent over backward to accommodate!" OK, yes, Trump himself did post on his weird fashy social media platform, "Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!" It is also true that Ben Jacobs of GiveMeSports is reporting that "The White House made a direct call to FIFA to ask Gianni Infantino to review Folarin Balogun’s red card." But have you even ever heard of "Ben Jacobs" or "GiveMeSports"? Do you think this administration is so idiotically inconsistent that it would try to get a birthright citizen off the hook for punishment, mere days after the administration got so mad that the Supreme Court didn't abolish birthright citizenship? So do you trust this Jacobs guy's reporting? If you do, then why don't you also trust the FIFA sources mentioned in Jacobs's report, who "insist White House influence could not affect the decision due to the powers contained in Article 27 and the independent nature of the disciplinary panel"?
Look, obviously this is a topic around which some people are understandably riled up about. I get that. But let's just take a step back and appreciate the facts. Fact: Balogun should not have received a red card in the Bosnia game, and so it is good that he will not suffer further punishment. Fact: The U.S. played great in the Bosnia game even after going down a man, and very likely would have pulverized Belgium without Balogun. Fact: FIFA deserves your trust, seeing how well they've overseen this outstanding tournament. Fact: The only people mad right now are jealous and/or afraid of losing to a full-strength USMNT. Fact: The United States of America is going to win the World Cup. Fact: There is no way any of this could threaten to undermine what until now has been a wonderfully pure and globally admired USMNT showing, nor will it backfire in the U.S.'s face. Everything outside of those irrefutable facts is mere speculation.
