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2 hours ago
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The United States is obviously quite happy that Folarin Balogun is allowed to play against Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16.
The USMNT striker had his one-match suspension for a red card pushed off for a probationary period, so he won't have to sit during this World Cup. Given how well Balogun has played, it's huge.
FIFA, though, in making this decision -- they've created a problem.
It's one that won't go away now that they've made this call with Balogun.
Soccer analyst Nico Cantor, who works with CBS Sports, laid out a big dilemma as part of a social media post on X on Sunday.
"FIFA has just set an insane precedent: Any interpretable red card at the World Cup can now come under scrutiny in hindsight," Cantor writes. "The referee's judgment isn’t final. It hints at the fact that FIFA can do as they please, even if it means disagreeing with the subjective decisions of their own referees."
MORE: How Folarin Balogun is allowed to play vs. Belgium after red card
He does have a point. Any call like this is up for interpretation. There are very few cut-and-dry bookings for officials.
"Imagine how Rafael Clauss (referee) and Juan Soto (VAR) are feeling right now?" Cantor writes. "FIFA just undermined their credibility. This isn’t overruling something objective, a decision that’s based on fact. They’re rescinding a decision based on opinion. For as much as I believe Balogun didn’t deserve the red, it’s an interpretable decision."
FIFA had already gone down this road when they pushed off Cristiano Ronaldo's remaining two suspension matches beyond this World Cup, so this isn't totally unprecedented.
Now, though, any player who gets a red card will be making the case for some added scrutiny in hopes of getting it overturned.
And if that goes on, FIFA will have a tough time justifying one decision over the other without just totally doing away with red-card suspensions. This slope is certainly slippery.
English (US)