Common Sense Prevails for Balogun at FIFA World Cup

“We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee and are pleased that Folarin Balogun is eligible to compete tomorrow,” U.S. Soccer said in a statement. “Our full attention is on the Round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, and we look forward to the continued support of our amazing fans.” 

The thing is, Belgium really shouldn’t have a beef here. What Balogun did on the field against Bosnia did not at all scream “eject this guy from this game and make him sit the next.” Red cards, as opposed to yellow cards, are given for the worst on-field behaviors, including spitting, biting, receiving a second yellow card in the same match (Balogun did not have a prior yellow against Bosnia), denying an opposing player an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by committing a handball offense, violent conduct, and what’s known in the laws of the game as “serious foul play,” which is defined as “a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality” or lunging at an opponent “in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent.”