McAfee, Mahomes, Kelce and more react to Balogun's 'insane' World Cup red card

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FT Desk

The USMNT successfully progressed to the last 16 of the World Cup after a 2-0 defeat of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The crucial goals were scored by Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman as the co-hosts continued their positive World Cup campaign, but there was one sour note which threatens their further progression.

Just after the hour mark, Balogun, who had earlier had another goal disallowed, was given a straight red card after his studs raked down the leg and ankle of Tarik Muharemovic. The Bosnian's ankle inverted in queasy fashion and that apparently made up the referee's mind even though it appeared Balogun was simply trying to balance himself, without any malice.

The decision was made after VAR intervention.

Andy Davies, a former Select Group referee with Premier League experience, explained to ESPN that the decision to send the Monaco striker off was the wrong one.

"Balogun can feel unfortunate to be red carded in this situation as, in my opinion, this was not a red-card offence," he explained.

"With both players challenging for 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.

"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. 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."

The decision caused uproar on social media too, particularly from a selection of famous American sportspeople.

Balogun red card reaction

A RED CARD!?!???

WHATTTTTT pic.twitter.com/loNfXKZlP3

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 2, 2026

Man what……

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) July 2, 2026

Man, somebody help me. That foul looked incidental from Balogun, shouldn’t a Red Card be given if there is either intention to foul, or an action that is aggressive and unsafe in nature? Didn’t feel like Balogun was out of control or anything, just looked like it kind of…

— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) July 2, 2026

That’s not a red!!! 🤦‍♂️

— Dirk Nowitzki (@swish41) July 2, 2026

Red card for that means you’ve lost the plot. Completely lost the plot. #USMNT

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) July 2, 2026

You’ve gotta be kidding me….

🇺🇸

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 2, 2026

Oh, no: Balogun, our most dangerous striker, red-carded. That was an accidental yellow, nothing more.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 2, 2026

What a horrific, awful, horrible decision. Watch the game with your eyes. Balogun steps on the guy on accident. Potentially ruining our World Cup on a play that wasn’t even given a yellow in real time.

— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) July 2, 2026