Many believe United States Men’s National Team forward Folarin Balogun shouldn’t have been red-carded at the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday night, including a former referee.
Balogun was tossed in the 64th minute of a 2-0 American win over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. VAR (video assistant review) determined he committed a serious foul when he appeared to step on the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic accidentally. Former referee/ESPN contributor Andy Davies says the crew made the wrong call.
Andy Davies sounds off on Folarin Balogun red card
“Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation, as in my opinion, this was not a red card offense,” wrote Davies. “With both players challenging for the 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 then explained how VAR shouldn’t have even called for a review in the first place.
“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,” wrote Davies. “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.”
