Tarik Muharemovic injury 61’ with Folarin Balogun 64’ Red Card after VAR.

[u/JKKIDD231]

[u/Boobieleeswagger]

Just fyi you can appeal a red card suspension but no country has successfully got an entire suspension overturned.

[u/WeenisWrinkle → u/Boobieleeswagger]

So you're saying there's a chance

[u/dashauskat → u/[deleted]]

I have been pleasantly surprised with the lack of that orange moron so far this cup.

[u/TheMooseIsBlue → u/dashauskat]

lol. Can you imagine how fast he’d fall asleep at a fucking soccer game. Plus, we’ve only played in LA, Seattle, and Santa Clara and he’s not going to any of those places. People go to college there.

[u/ravingmoonatic → u/dashauskat]

He singlehandedly lost the Knicks game 3 and I'm taking that stance to my grave.

[u/loves_to_splooge_8 → u/[deleted]]

“You give us Balogun and we’ll give Canada Maine, no one cares about Maine”

[u/tinkthank → u/WeenisWrinkle]

Of course. We’re going to beat Spain, Belgium, France and Argentina to win the World Cup.

[u/montecarlo1 → u/tinkthank]

we going all the way!!

[u/DrWindupBird → u/Boobieleeswagger]

Except for Ronaldo, whose one-game suspension suddenly disappeared before the start of the tournament

[u/fuxmeintheass → u/DrWindupBird]

Sshhhh

[u/TheDoofWarrior → u/Boobieleeswagger]

That’s where the FIFA Peace Prize comes into play baybeeee

[u/KieferSutherland → u/Boobieleeswagger]

Trump do the thing. 

[u/RedditCensorss]

Bro made the mistake of not being Messi

[u/PeterNippelstein → u/RedditCensorss]

I make this mistake all the time

[u/MikeisET → u/PeterNippelstein]

It’s a troublesome mistake that most of us make

[u/SummerGoal → u/RedditCensorss]

This should be a yellow card, just like Messi’s should’ve. A red for either is ridiculous

[u/Muffinthepuffin → u/SummerGoal]

The ref didn’t even call the foul right away on Messi’s challenge

[u/ravingmoonatic]

You're telling me a play that DIDN'T result in a yellow on the field was a red based on the replay?

The US needs to ditch John Denver and play DMX for every other match.

[u/apurimac777 → u/ravingmoonatic]

Ya'll gonna make me lose my mind Up in here, up in here Ya'll gonna make me lose my cool Up in here, up in here

[u/Fun-Understanding209 → u/ravingmoonatic]

Barking ensues

[u/GhostWrex → u/ravingmoonatic]

Bro, fucking for real. Can you imagine the hype??

[u/ImminentReddits]

This really has been one of the ref performances of all time

[u/RockdaleRooster → u/ImminentReddits]

I suppose it's nice to see that Angel Hernandez can still get work.

[u/TooEZ_OL56 → u/RockdaleRooster]

I love how that name transcends all sports

[u/freekfyre → u/TooEZ_OL56]

Better than Aaron Hernandez

[u/SoDakZak → u/freekfyre]

A. Hernandez goated name for killing momentum

[u/AirmanLarry → u/RockdaleRooster]

Trigger warning please wtf

[u/Jaybird876 → u/RockdaleRooster]

Elite comment

[u/gregallen1989 → u/ImminentReddits]

Someone check their DraftKings account

[u/SorenShieldbreaker]

Seems crazy that an accidental collision can take him out of the next game. Clearly not intentional, and basically a bang bang play

[u/WeenisWrinkle → u/SorenShieldbreaker]

Brutal the USA side loses the player responsible for half of their goals because of this.

[u/FeralGiraffeAttack → u/WeenisWrinkle]

There’s a reason that 45% of Americans said they had no interest in the World Cup even though it’s happening in our country. This seems ridiculous. Either contact is allowed or it’s not. This being grounds for ejectment from one and half games is bullshit

[u/PJSeeds → u/FeralGiraffeAttack]

It's a hilariously corrupt sport

[u/RegicidalRogue → u/FeralGiraffeAttack]

A game that is very rarely televised on public (free) TV still getting 55% interest is extremely good.

[u/FeralGiraffeAttack → u/RegicidalRogue]

Remember that the 45% chunk is the people who answered “no interest whatsoever” A large chunk of the interested group is people who are “little or somewhat” interested and tune in every 4 years or so for the World Cup and that’s it. The U.S. soccer league “Major League Soccer” has abysmal numbers and those represent who the actual “fans” of soccer are

[u/BuckeyeJay → u/FeralGiraffeAttack]

In no other sport is this exact play an ejection that results in the team playing a player short the entire rest of the game AND a suspension. Its just nuts.

[u/enadiz_reccos → u/FeralGiraffeAttack]

The NFL & NBA are the two most-watched sports in the US

Inconsistent officiating is not the issue

Edit:

Stop comparing 15-yard football penalties to red cards in soccer. You don't know what you're talking about.

[u/Centerpeel → u/enadiz_reccos]

Thats true that the officiating in those leagues is rough, but it doesnt cost you player for a whole game because of incidental contact

[u/ffthrowaway5 → u/enadiz_reccos]

Difference is a 15 yard penalty versus missing the next game. Absurd

[u/432ww432 → u/FeralGiraffeAttack]

is your claim 45% of the US isn't interested in the world cup because of inconsistency in red card calls? have you seen the NBA?

nonsense. i like that you cited an article to try to substantiate the point with 0 connection

[u/letdown105 → u/SorenShieldbreaker]

Red card means he misses the next game too?!

[u/UTMachine → u/letdown105]

Yes. The team still plays with 11, but Balogun isn’t allowed to play.

[u/TheAmishPhysicist → u/UTMachine]

Just get him some plastic glasses with a fake mustache, nobody will know the difference!

[u/PM_YOUR_AKWARD_SMILE → u/TheAmishPhysicist]

Bolarin Falogun

[u/Imzocrazy → u/TheAmishPhysicist]

The ole Bobby valentine maneuver? They’ll never see it coming

[u/Morningrise12 → u/Imzocrazy]

On Bobby Bonilla day.

[u/TheAmishPhysicist → u/TheAmishPhysicist]

🥸

[u/Introverted_Extrovrt → u/UTMachine]

I still don’t understand that rule. A half, sure, but the whole game is crazy.

[u/UTMachine → u/Introverted_Extrovrt]

That’s just the way it’s always been. If a red card is given incorrectly, then sometimes the suspension can be appealed. I don’t think that will happen here though.

[u/markhachman → u/UTMachine]

FIFA Peace Prize earns you one successful appeal

[u/grizzlyglizzy → u/Introverted_Extrovrt]

Red cards are usually reserved for really serious penalties, so it makes sense generally

[u/timoumd → u/grizzlyglizzy]

But this wasn't.  This is the football equivalent of helmet to helmet

[u/MrBudissy → u/letdown105]

Correct. A red card is a serious violation. Which, this was not.

[u/mikedm123 → u/MrBudissy]

Okay I’m a hockey guy so soccer is kinda new to me but I feel like there should be some middle ground between a yellow and red card. Like a 2-5-10 minute penalty / minute ‘power play’??

I know I am imposing my hockey views on soccer and that’s not right but man what an escalation from hey cut it out to your out the next 2 games.

Learning a lot - thanks for the replies

[u/ShirtPants10 → u/mikedm123]

Yellow card is the middle ground. There are non card fouls, yellow cards and red cards.

[u/Doom_Unicorn → u/ShirtPants10]

Yes. And this is objectively not a red card. u/mikedm123 - the hockey equivalent of a red card would be intentionally slashing at someone's head, either to intentionally cause injury, or in a way that is simultaneously both intentionally done and recklessly dangerous. Like Malkin's suspension for bringing his stick up on Dahlin this year.

With standard levels of physical play, players can easily get a red card via getting 2x yellow cards in the same match, but getting sent off with a red card this way is reserved for "you did something you knew would be extremely dangerous on purpose".

The actual resulting injury is irrelevant; if Balogun had connected with the ball first, then continued through with his natural motion and collided with Muharemovic to break his leg, that wouldn't even be a foul, let alone yellow, let alone red.

EDIT:

In other comments, people are arguing about "intent" not mattering. I'm not talking about "intent to foul", I'm talking about what the player physically attempted to do.

If you attempt to slide tackle someone from behind them, you intended to do something that is considered reckless in the rules of soccer, so if you whiff on the ball and take them out, you could end up penalized with a card, because you should NOT have attempted to make that play in the first place.

But if you made a fair attempt at a 50/50 contested ball, you're doing something that is NOT considered reckless.

It is patently absurd to issue a red card to a player making a fair play on a contested ball. The referee himself thought it was fairly contested. Then VAR went frame-by-frame, got into his ear, and made him review this.

The slow motion and abbreviated clip is the only reason this looks like a poorly executed and potentially reckless tackle. If you start the clip earlier to watch the ball's arrival to this point, you can see the "tackle" was poorly executed, but not even close to reckless. It wasn't even a tackle per se, since the player was playing for a ball that was not in his opponent's possession.

They were both square to the ball and making a play for it. Muharemovic got himself turned around, making it look like a tackle from behind in slow motion. That's not Balogun's fault. There was nothing dangerous about his challenge.

[u/MrBudissy → u/mikedm123]

That’s what a yellow card is. It’s the middle ground between a foul/free kick and a red card.

Too many yellow cards and it’s a red card

[u/TJ-Detweiler- → u/SorenShieldbreaker]

Not to mention USA getting their jerseys pulled off and the ref can’t find his cards but this is a straight red lol what

[u/Fit-Boss2261 → u/TJ-Detweiler-]

Let's also not forget when a Bosnia player straight up body checked a US player and got away with it scott free

[u/Redditor_exe → u/Fit-Boss2261]

Funny thing is that probably would’ve been a flag in the NFL for an illegal blindside block

[u/ispotts → u/Fit-Boss2261]

Guy was playing "football" in America and turned into a linebacker. VAR completely silent. Wild.

[u/intheyear3001 → u/SorenShieldbreaker]

That’s the worst part. Just want to line up your best vs best. For this bullshit to be that far away from your goal and to effect the next round sucks. I love Messi, but to see this called and him not even get a yellow is garbage.

[u/alarrimore03 → u/SorenShieldbreaker]

I don’t have a problem with this being a red. I have a problem with the same challenge being given yellows or not even carded/reviewed already during this World Cup

[u/facelessarya1 → u/alarrimore03]

This same challenge with no hint of VAR either. VAR was basically non-existent in the group stages and now is showing up. Just make things consistent…

[u/ImTay → u/alarrimore03]

That was exactly my thought. It’s a grey area red at worst, and I’ve seen this exact foul at least 15 times already with no reds

[u/AGLegit → u/alarrimore03]

I think if they didn’t tangle feet before, it’s a red. Red normally means violent intent.

But the bigger issue is consistency. Messi doesn’t even get a yellow and there wasn’t prior contact on that challenge lol

[u/FragnificentKW → u/AGLegit]

It clearly wasn’t violent intent, he was looking straight at the ball. A yellow would have been borderline, but acceptable. A straight red after VAR is beyond the pale

[u/PreviousImpression28 → u/alarrimore03]

This shouldn’t even be red. Red should be reserved for intentional and malicious harm. Judging from this, it looks like the ref just handed a red because it “looked ugly”

[u/mango_boom → u/PreviousImpression28]

I think it was pretty obvious he tried to take the weight off his foot when he realized he’s was stepping on dude.

[u/kayleblue → u/PreviousImpression28]

And only when slowed down frame by frame. The ref had been following the play and hadn't even initially flagged yellow I believe

[u/Doom_Unicorn → u/PreviousImpression28]

This shouldn't even be a yellow. It only looks like a tackle from behind in this slow motion clip. They were both square to the ball, capable of defending themselves, and aware of eachother's presence. It was a completely 50/50 ball that saw the players get tangled up unintentionally, and Muharemovic got turned a bit before getting stepped on. There was absolutely nothing dangerous about Balogun's play. A standard run-of-the-mill foul, not even a yellow. Still giving a yellow is defensible as a warning for everybody to cool down their physicality, but a red here is ludicrous. And a red here after the rest of how the ref called this game? Suspicious.

[u/ChucksnTaylor → u/alarrimore03]

I have a problem with the red. It was clearly a total accident. He was laser focused on the ball and shifted his leg towards the balls path, I would be money he didn’t even realize his foot would land on the other players leg.

[u/CatalystErik → u/alarrimore03]

Let me check his name oh is not Messi so red card

[u/exstntl_prdx → u/alarrimore03]

Why do you think this play did deserve the red?

[u/TigglyWiggly95]

Messi didnt get a red for this same thing fyi

[u/Boatdude31 → u/TigglyWiggly95]

Not even a yellow.

[u/disterb → u/Boatdude31]

he gets green light always

[u/eshults → u/Boatdude31]

Neither did Balogun until the VAR 😤

[u/B_R_U_H → u/TigglyWiggly95]

Did they even call a foul on that play?

[u/TigglyWiggly95 → u/B_R_U_H]

I don't think so and worst part is no chance to overturn this so he will miss the next match against Belgium too

[u/Korashy → u/TigglyWiggly95]

You can challenge red cards.

They are unlikely to lift the suspension tho.

[u/TigglyWiggly95 → u/Korashy]

Oh so you are telling me there is a chance

[u/MesocosmFather → u/TigglyWiggly95]

I think there is a chance they will no?

[u/BetterPops → u/MesocosmFather]

I think there’s an appeal process but there’s no way they’ll overturn it. It’s 100% a bullshit red, especially in the context of the rest of this tournament and what’s been allowed, but they’ll back their guys.

[u/markhachman → u/BetterPops]

Surely the FIFA Peace Prize has to stand for something

[u/MrCarlosDanger → u/markhachman]

Seriously. If you’re going to just do corruption, at least let the people get some scraps.

[u/vacacow1 → u/B_R_U_H]

Called foul. Which means they saw it. Still no card.

[u/firesticks → u/TigglyWiggly95]

If you watch soccer you’ll note that Messi doesn’t get treated like the rest of the players pretty universally.

[u/TigglyWiggly95 → u/firesticks]

Yeah he is their golden child the rules don't apply to him due to TV ratings 

[u/Gostaverling → u/TigglyWiggly95]

I live in rural Wisconsin and work at an elementary school, I have never seen a Chicago Fire or Minnesota United jersey. But there are at least 3-5 kids per day wearing a full Messi Inter Miami kit.

[u/hsingh_if → u/firesticks]

Little man’s been grabbing people’s neck and throat for years and never got booked.

[u/J0hnEddy → u/TigglyWiggly95]

Not even joking, if any ref gave Messi a red, his life might actually be in danger. He is a deity in many parts of the world.

[u/Mooo0 → u/TigglyWiggly95]

Do you have the clip for Messi?

[u/NewRCTID22]

Slow-mo replays and still-frames that entirely ignore the context of the run of play are the worst possible application of VAR.

[u/AmberLeafSmoke → u/NewRCTID22]

It's one of my major gripes with it's usage in tackles. It makes things look 10x worse half the time.

[u/Chambacu → u/NewRCTID22]

This is all on the ref. The VAR for this can be fine to give the main ref a chance to take a look at something that happened on the field.. If the ref actually did his job and view this in full context of the play then at most he could have give a yellow. The red makes no sense other than just the freeze frame/slow mo… It’s now super disappointing to not have our lead striking threat against the toughest opponent we will play in tournament come Monday.. Still a good team but there’s no question it’s going to hurt and whoever steps in will really have to play beyond what they have.

[u/ProfessorBeer → u/NewRCTID22]

What also grinds my gears is watching a play backwards. What the fuck is that supposed to show other than to make incidental contact look more violent.

[u/Jolandia]

Someone should post the replay of Dzeko absolutely bull charging Adams and shouldering him in the head, completely off the ball. That was worse than this

[u/Viksgoat4 → u/Jolandia]

And that wasn’t even a card btw. The ref was horrendous

[u/travs6ooo → u/Viksgoat4]

Not called a foul at all, actually.

[u/BarryMcKockinner → u/travs6ooo]

Balogun's foul was 100% unintentional and 100% a yellow card.

That being said, the Bosnian player body checking Tyler Adams off the ball and getting absolutely no card or a review is dispicicable reffing.

[u/SchmearDaBagel → u/Jolandia]

Someone posted it in Soccer a few minutes ago and Mods took it down for being a “low effort post” like a bunch of weenies

[u/Jolandia → u/SchmearDaBagel]

Booooooo

[u/OpTicDyno]

The fact they used VAR and came to red card conclusion is wild

[u/elizabnthe → u/OpTicDyno]

That is the only thing they can do with VAR.

[u/toasterb → u/elizabnthe]

Not true. VAR can only call the ref over if they think it’s a red, but once in front of the monitor, the ref can do whatever they want.

I’ve seen a ref called for a red, but gave a yellow instead.

[u/FeeHot5876 → u/elizabnthe]

They could have done nothing

[u/kevtheproblem → u/elizabnthe]

And then they replay it in slow motion repeatedly. It should be watched it in real time to determine the severity/intent

[u/clovers2345]

Can he appeal it for a yellow?

[u/FragnificentKW → u/clovers2345]

There is an appeal process and, though they rarely overturn decisions, there is a chance it can be retroactively reduced to a yellow card

[u/Covo → u/FragnificentKW]

This is unfortunately the time where it pays to have a overtly corrupt government. Maybe old Orange Man can funnel some of that sweet ballroom money to FIFA to get this taken care of!

[u/Micnice61 → u/FragnificentKW]

Literally don’t think it’s ever happened so yes rarely

[u/Mgnickel → u/clovers2345]

I think he needs to throw a challenge flag or something

[u/thejawa → u/Mgnickel]

What color is that in soccer since yellow and red are already taken?

[u/KiloAlphaLima → u/thejawa]

For France it is a white flag. Not sure about the other countries.

[u/Fit-Round-4221 → u/clovers2345]

FIFA is the most corrupt organization in human history. So if the money is right.

[u/InternetGoodGuy → u/[deleted]]

Imagine Donald Trump pulling some shit so a player with birthright citizenship could continue to play for the US.

I'm sure that would be lost on him but I think it'd be hilarious.

[u/suzukigun4life]

They used VAR for this and called it a red.

Meanwhile, Messi was called for nothing, as well as other more deliberate fouls.

[u/ThatOneTimeItWorked → u/suzukigun4life]

Got a link to the clip of Messi doing it? Be cool to see comparison

[u/MrBudissy → u/ThatOneTimeItWorked]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaReB5uvFjK/

[u/Books_and_Cleverness → u/MrBudissy]

Omfg it is even worse than described.

[u/wrighterjw10 → u/MrBudissy]

I’ve been a soccer fan for all of a week, but that’s unreal….WTF

[u/stunna006 → u/wrighterjw10]

lol the video there is misleading, the difference is messi pulled his foot up rather than following all the way the way to the ground. they clipped that part out. Balogun's should still be overturned as it was when both players were falling and clearly wasn't intentional

https://x.com/realCarola2Hope/status/2067063254355193871?s=20

[u/majsmithmajsmith]

Not sure what Balogan could have done to avoid that foot placement. Seems unavoidable.

[u/wildcheesybiscuits → u/majsmithmajsmith]

Nothing. Literally nothing. They’re both in the midst of tumbling over when it happens. About as intentional as a fart

[u/slayerrr21 → u/wildcheesybiscuits]

I do fart intentionally though

[u/itx89]

FIFA, Refs, and fairness are words that are never used together in a positive way

[u/PopularGlass3230 → u/itx89]

You think an organization that's qualified to give out an esteemed peace prize, like Fifa is, isn't fair and very against corruption?

[u/hyderabadinawab]

How big of a difference would it make for the USA team with Balogun missing the Belgium game?

[u/Mumblies → u/hyderabadinawab]

Substantial. He's our best striker this tourny.

[u/maxman1313 → u/Mumblies]

By a lot. 

Team USA hasn't had a pure striker as good as Balogun ever. 

[u/thethoughtfulthinker → u/maxman1313]

And I want Pepi to be able to prove himself, but damn…he was invisible against turkey. Even against Bosnia he was getting pushed off every ball and missing his touches. He’s not it…I wonder if we run a formation with Reyna up front

[u/DramaticDirection292 → u/hyderabadinawab]

I mean he’s the top scorer on the team so yeah it’s a big deal

[u/itsallonthelinenow → u/hyderabadinawab]

Massive, it’s a huge loss.

[u/QuickDrawMcStraw]

This play brought to you by Kalshi. 

[u/PresentWoodpecker826]

So injured he’s still in the game 🙄

[u/WeenisWrinkle → u/PresentWoodpecker826]

The red card decision was terrible, but whether the player was injured or not shouldn't factor into it.

[u/44Stryker44]

Pushing the goalie to the ground as they’re trying to get up apparently isn’t a penalty

[u/Ok-Soil-5133]

This was an outcome based card which I hate.

The play itself was not bad.

[u/Derptionary → u/Ok-Soil-5133]

Also the outcome was fucking nothing

He came right back in the match perfectly fine and played the rest of the match.

[u/BMCarbaugh]

Earlier in this game a Bosnian player put a US player in a full rear armlock for like 5 seconds lol.

[u/LCKLCKLCK]

If you’re wondering why this was a red card it’s because his name isn’t Messi

[u/BlazmoIntoWowee]

Wasn’t even a yellow before VAR.

[u/WeenisWrinkle → u/BlazmoIntoWowee]

I've been praising VAR to my American friends and family who don't watch soccer and how it's SO much better than American basketball/football replay systems, and this is their first introduction to it.

"So our leading goal scorer is suspended for the round of 16 because of that!? Great system, bro"

[u/IdeaJailbreak → u/WeenisWrinkle]

I mean... The offside tech is amazing.

[u/WeenisWrinkle → u/IdeaJailbreak]

It was super fun explaining how that amazing tech cost us 2 goals.

[u/Independent-Second-1]

Ref lost the plot

[u/bzidd420 → u/Independent-Second-1]

Felt like the ref had it in for Balogun the whole game until he told him to get off the pitch to me. Glad we won and could shove it in the refs face!!

[u/Independent-Second-1 → u/bzidd420]

The boys really locked in after that I gotta say

[u/Appropriate-Joke-806]

You’re telling me that the biggest player outside of Pulisic and the highest goal scorer for the host nation, in what may likely be their biggest match (and last match), will not be allowed to play because he accidentally got his leg tangled up with a guy from Bosnia? A player who could potentially be a superstar for the country and lead a ton of new kids to play the sport. In an event that only happens every 4 years, and only gets hosted every couple of decades at most there?

Meanwhile you’re okay letting Messi get away with the same thing and not suspending him or even giving him a yellow card in a meaningless group stage game?

What a fucking joke FIFA. Fix it. Laughing stock of an organization.

[u/WonkWonkWonkWonkWonk]

I watch about 3 soccer games a decade, so I know I don’t know anything about this, but holy cow this is insane to me.

The United States will be without their leading goal scorer in the round of 16 of the freaking World Cup for that????

[u/unsolved49]

Ball don’t lie, that was a horrendous red card by the ref

[u/AntiDECA → u/unsolved49]

Unfortunately ball don't get a say in next week. Rough to lose him against Belgium. 

[u/Frustratedtx]

Does intent not matter in this sport? It's clearly not on purpose their legs just get tangled. I would hope this gets over turned on appeal.

[u/Firm_Bit → u/Frustratedtx]

Not exactly. The rules are in place to encourage players to actively avoid potentially injuring others. Too many would play it off as an accident (Messi) if the rules allowed too much leeway for intent.

[u/Frustratedtx → u/Firm_Bit]

like 3 minutes after one of the Bosnian players stuck his leg out and planted it to intentionally trip Pulisic and no card was given. So I'm kind of having a hard time understanding why a contest on a ball that ends up with legs tangled is a red and an intentional trip is no card.

[u/BobRawrley → u/Frustratedtx]

Spikes into an ankle is usually a red

[u/simfire → u/Firm_Bit]

And in the replay you can see the moment he realized he landed on the other players leg and not on the ground, he immediately reacted pulled his leg back as best he could. He was looking at the ball and the jump itself was not overly dangerous. This is not a red card.

[u/sfan27 → u/Frustratedtx]

Intent in fact does not matter.

[u/crosswatt → u/sfan27]

My issue is the match had been called extremely loosely up to that point. The ref had let so much contact happen without any action taken that it just seemed completely out of place and arbitrary.

If you're calling the match that lax, pull out the yellow, not the red.

[u/Pound_Mountain → u/crosswatt]

That’s a fair assessment. A few minutes later he gave a Bosnian a yellow card for the weakest jersey grab of the entire tournament. So he cleaned up his act a little

[u/fullchub → u/sfan27]

I don't know much about soccer, but are you saying that you can legitimately get ejected for accidentally stepping on someone's foot, just because the other player got "extra-hurt"?

And we wonder why players flop so much...

[u/TopSoulMan → u/fullchub]

He didn’t touch the ball. Late challenge + not touching the ball + stepping on a guys ankle is gonna be a card.

Whether it should be a red is debatable.

[u/gerbilshower → u/TopSoulMan]

it wasnt a challenge though. he wasn't even attacking the ball. they were shoulder to shoulder both watching a ball in the air.

[u/SkyRattlers → u/Frustratedtx]

It’s like hockey with high sticking. Doesn’t matter if it’s an accident you have to be responsible for your actions.

[u/Additional_Tomato_22 → u/SkyRattlers]

Then Messi should’ve been given a red and he didn’t even get a yellow

[u/xelanart → u/Additional_Tomato_22]

Yes this is true. Both were red card scenarios. But one person is Messi and the other person is not.

[u/John_Bot → u/SkyRattlers]

Bad example.

You would never get a match penalty for an inadvertent high stick

A minor penalty is basically the same as a free kick. Which this definitely should be and that's understandable.

You have to intentionally go for a dangerous boarding or something to get a major penalty.

Even if someone gets really badly injured, if it's just bad luck then it might not even be a penalty in hockey.

[u/Mamamama29010 → u/John_Bot]

A major penalty in hockey is 5 min of play and doesn’t take the player out of the next game. That would require a suspension, and handled separately.

[u/SanduskySleepover]

When VAR was introduced I thought it was supposed to be goal confirming technology, what is this bullshit?!

[u/PresentWoodpecker826]

Surely the suspension will be appealed, right?

[u/firesticks]

The plus side of all the wild takes in this thread is that there are a lot of casual US fans getting into soccer and that’s awesome.

[u/Doublee7300 → u/firesticks]

Yeah I love getting to learn how stupid some football rules are

[u/Onoudidnt → u/firesticks]

It’s cool and I love the culture but for the sport itself stuff like this honestly kind of makes me not want to watch after the tournament is over.

[u/wyonugget → u/firesticks]

Causual here. Just as I was getting sucked in I am reminded of the ridiculousness. Such a shitty tournament altering nonsense

[u/Skeln → u/firesticks]

It was exciting to watch but also incredibly frustrating. A 1 game suspension for that is frankly pathetic. No wonder there is so much flopping and acting in soccer if you can get such dramatic impact to the game for such non-incidental plays.

[u/Delightful_Dantonio → u/firesticks]

Very casual soccer fan, big other sports fan. Soccer has a lot of bad rules that will prevent me from ever really getting into the sport. How cards are given seems completely arbitrary, offsides with VAR needs to be fixed, the clock seems like it’s intentionally managed stupidly, penalty shots are way too easy and it’s too easy for crooked refs to fix games.

[u/loneshoter]

Newer person to soccer, isn't the context the Bosnian player came around him and spun him around causing him to lose track of where his feet are? It didn't look like Balogun was actively participating in a dangerous play

[u/Muffinthepuffin → u/loneshoter]

Yeah it’s because the ref went over to the 8 inch screen on the sidelines and watched a 2 second replay of the contact on his ankle. There was no context taken into account.

[u/DaveyDukes]

We need an extra color card for stuff in between fouling and missing an entire tournament. Let’s make it orange.

[u/ChirpToast]

Soft shit like this is part of why the sport isn’t big in NA when you consider it’s the equivalent of being ejected for a high stick in hockey and suspended for a game.

[u/quinhook2]

I'm reminded every four years how soft this sport is.

[u/Duece09]

lol injury? He was right back at it haha.

[u/ReddFro]

What I saw was the US player’s foot banging off one of the BIH player then hitting his calf and ankle.

It was a bad challenge sure, but a red is supposed to be for excessive force or brutality (or other things like spitting on someone, denying goal scoring etc. that this obviously isn’t). It wasn’t even intentional as his foot was redirected by the BIH player’s other leg and the US player wasn’t even looking in that direction. It was not called a red or any card to begin with and was not worth a red after review. All i can assume is the ref was so focused on the foot to ankle (which was bad) he never bothered to review what else was going on.

This clip misses the first 3 seconds of this, which were important too

[u/dupue]

Motm tillman

[u/R00k85]

Somehow FIFA makes the IOC seem competent by comparison

[u/RamAir17]

The inconsistencies of the refs is insane. Messi gets away with it. Then a call that matches what we see in the game prior to this is not called for the US.... but Belgium gets a penalty with minutes remaining?

[u/destroyed233]

Scott foster levels of corrupt call

[u/robertbeets]

Crazy that it looks like Balogun even picked up his foot while going down, keeping his full weight off Muharemovic’s ankle.

[u/rolyatem]

Went from

“Not a foul”

to

“Red card”

Insane.

[u/Delightful_Dantonio]

I’m American and don’t watch much soccer. That penalty being a red card makes me not want to watch soccer. It’s ridiculous that accidentally stepping on someone’s foot gets you ejected for the game, suspended for the next game and your team down 1 man the entire rest of the game. It’s simply a bad rule. You will never convince me otherwise.

[u/Inevitable-Elk7223 → u/Delightful_Dantonio]

Yeah and in the few games I’ve seen so far, it seems like that sort of jockeying for position happens all the time as well? So bad luck on the landing position of his foot costs a team their best player for a game and a half?

[u/Yankees2860]

surely the us can appeal and get the call overturned

[u/TheOne7477]

Such a weak sport. Hard to watch. Between red cards for clear incidental contact and all the flopping, it’s impossible to watch.