Folarin Balogun's red card in the United States' Round of 32 win over Bosnia was the subject of controversy. But reports indicated that there was no way for an appeal during the FIFA World Cup according to the rules. That's still the case, but the governing body has still handed USA a distinct advantage heading into a monstrous clash with Belgium in the Round of 16 as the one-match ban for Balogun's red card has now been suspended, meaning he'll be available for Mauricio Pochettino's side on Monday.
Dan Sheldon and Adam Crafton of The Athletic dropped the bombshell report that Balogun will be able to play for the United States in Seattle against a Belgium side that eliminated USA from the World Cup back in 2014 in this same round of the tournament. It was a wholly unexpected but absolutely monumental ruling that is as shocking as it is impactful.
How is Folarin Balogun able to play for the United States after his red card?
According to the report and ruling that will make Balogun available for the United States, The Athletic cited Article 27 of FIFA's disciplinary rules as to what sparked the USMNT forward now being allowed to take the pitch to face Belgium alongside the American side:
"The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure."
It adds: “If the person benefiting from a suspended sanction commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked by the judicial body and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”
In layman's terms, that means that the judicial body working for FIFA is allowed to pass down discretionary rulings to things like suspensions for red cards. As such, they are able to essentially suspend the sentence, or in this case the one-match ban, that would be associated with an infraction, whether that's a red card or something different.
The second part of FIFA's language is important, though, because it does mean that Balogun will be on what amounts to thin ice against Belgium. If he were to commit another serious foul or, even worse, earn another red card, he would be subject to not only the one-game ban happening in the quarterfinals, but potentially being banned for more than one or even more than two matches beyond that, based on the judicial body's rulings.
Regardless, FIFA has seemingly sided with the fact that the red card against Bosnia was a bit soft, which will put Balogun on the pitch against Belgium as the World Cup hosts try to make a deep run on home soil. And he's a dynamic presence that now gives USA a leg up in this mix.
Projected USMNT lineup with Folarin Balogun and the inherent advantage
- Goalkeeper: Matt Freese
- Defenders: Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson
- Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie
- Attackers: Folarin Balogun, Sergiño Dest, Christian Pulisic
Make no mistake, there's a reason that the United States were still slight favorites over Belgium even when Balogun was set to miss the match. The Belgian side has looked inconsistent at best throughout the tournament, not to mention needing to erase a 2-0 second-half deficit to move to the Round of 16 past Senegal. And on top of that, USA replacing Balogun with Ricardo Pepi would've still given the Americans plenty of firepower up top.
But Balogun is a certified difference maker in the U.S. attack. He scored two goals against Paraguay and opened the scoring against Bosnia as well. He leads the team in both goals and expected goals at the World Cup thus far, as well as having the attacking mindset and speed that can cause the Belgium defenders some concern throughout the 90 minutes (or more) of action.
Inserting him into the lineup gives the United States their ace in the hole. Balogun's leveling up as part of this attack has been one of the biggest reasons for optimism around the Americans in this tournament and he's lived up to the billing. His presence now makes it even more likely, at least by the odds, that the USA is now on track to advance to the quarterfinals at the World Cup for the first time since 2002 and only the second time since World War II.
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