REUTERS/Pedro Nunes TPX I
Folarin Balogun was given a controversial red card in the USMNT's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina
The United States men’s national soccer team made history on Wednesday night with its 2-0 win against Bosnian & Herzegovina, but it still wasn’t a perfect night for the USMNT. Striker Folarin Balogun, who scored the opening goal in the match, was given a red card and as a result will miss the team’s next match against Belgium.
The United States’ 2-0 win over Bosnian & Herzegovinain in the Round of 32 marked the program’s first knockout round win since the 2002 World Cup, and the team’s first win over a European side at a World Cup, which also came in 2002.
The night wasn’t without blemish, however, as Folarin Balogun was given a red card in the 64th minute after the spikes of his cleats made incidental contact on the defender’s calf.
The call was immediately and widely controversial — the commentary team of John Strong, Stu Holden and former referee Mark Clattenburg disagreed with the decision, as did the larger sports world on social media. It was also pointed out by soccer fans that global superstar Lionel Messi committed a similar foul against Algeria but was not penalized.
This play is being reviewed for a potential red card against the US pic.twitter.com/EdyPpgpycA
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 2, 2026
There is no mechanism for US Soccer to appear Folarin Balogun’s red card and suspension, according to FIFA.
Given Balogun’s importance to the USMNT — he’s scored three goals so far at the 2026 World Cup — soccer fans both old and new were curious about whether there’s a red card appeal process. There is, but not for the one Balogun received — which was a straight red. Two yellow cards, which then become a red, can be appealed.
“New for 2026 is that now VAR can also step in when a player is wrongly sent off for a second yellow card. If the red card stands on the field, teams can still appeal to FIFA’s disciplinary committee after the match to try to get the suspension wiped from a player’s record,” USA Today explained prior to the start of the World Cup.
The Athletic reported in the aftermath of the match, however, that “FIFA sources confirm there is no mechanism to appeal a World Cup red card in their Disciplinary Code,” meaning there is no specific avenue for protesting a World Cup red card during the course of said World Cup.
“When asked by The Athletic whether a red card can be appealed a FIFA official pointed to its regulations and Article 66.4 which states: ‘A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.'”
What’s the phone number for the FIFA red card appeal hotline?
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 2, 2026
The United States will face off against Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle on Monday, July 6 at 8 p.m. EST. The two sides famously faced off in the 2014 World Cup, which is the match that goal keeper Tim Howard set the World Cup record for most saves in a single match (16).
In place of Balogun in the starting lineup will likely be Ricardo Pepi, a 23-year-old striker at PSV Eindhoven. While Pepi might not be the pure athletic force that Balogun us, he’s profiles as a more than competent back-up, having scored 21 goals in all competitions for PSV, who won the Dutch league, this season, and was also on the verge of joining Premier League club Fulham during the midseason transfer window.
Pepi also has the third-most all-time combined goals and assists by an American in the Champions League, behind only his teammates Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.