USA star Balogun speaks out on controversial red card

USMNT forward Folarin Balogun says although he does not believe he should have been sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After opening the scoring during USA’s 2-0 win against Bosnia, which saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side progress to the round of 16, Balogun was shown a straight red in the 64th minute after a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic following a VAR review.

The former Arsenal striker will now be missing for USA’s clash against Belgium with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.

“I think it was important for me to say, obviously, first and foremost, it was totally unintentional, which I’m sure a lot of people know,” Balogun said. “I think the choice of the referee was, of course, his choice, but I don’t think it was the correct call. I think a yellow card would have been fair, just due to it not being intentional.

“Also, there’s not many places I can place my foot in such a scenario. I think it’s happened and it’s something I have to accept and just move forward from.”

Balogun’s sending off was the second red card of his career, and something the forward admits is difficult to deal with.

“Just a tonne of emotion. It’s difficult to see red at any time, especially now in such a high-pressure tournament, in such a high-pressure situation. 

“There was many emotions, but for me the most important thing was just trying to stay calm. I think I didn’t want to react out of emotion, out of anger. I had to just accept that the decision was made, whether I agreed with it or not, and just try to also think about how I can help moving forward”