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John Harkes, a member of the 1994 USMNT World Cup team, was at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday night and had the same reaction as almost everyone when Folarin Balogun had to leave the game.
“We kept saying, ‘Wait a minute, that’s not a red card,'” Harkes said of his reaction in an interview with Pak Gazette Digital.
“You know, we were at the stadium, and immediately I think I was standing there next to my daughter-in-law and our grandson, and then my son and my wife. Both my son and my wife, Cindy and Ian, turned around and said, ‘That’s not a red card.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think it was a red card at all.”
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Sead Kolasinac (5) of Bosnia talks to Folarin Balogun of the United States after Balogun was sent off, while Christian Pulisic (10) watches during the World Cup round of 16 match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, California, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Julio Cortés/AP)
With Balogun’s absence, the USMNT had to play with 10 men for the rest of the match. However, a red card results in an automatic suspension for the next game, meaning a referee can alter multiple games with a single call, even if it is, as Harkes said, a “50/50” play.
Harkes was a “victim” of something similar in 1994, the last time the United States hosted the World Cup before this year. He earned yellow cards in the first and third games, leading to a suspension for the United States’ game against Brazil on July 4.
“It crushed me. I kept thinking, this is the best thing in the world coming together, and you’re going to make a player sit out the next game because of an accumulation of yellow cards?” Harkes said.
USA’s John Harkes (6) in action against Switzerland’s Marc Hottiger (2) during a Group A match at Pontiac Silverdome. Pontiac, Michigan. (John Biever/Getty Images)
FIFA RULES LEAVE TEAM USA WITHOUT REMEDY AFTER FOLARIN BALOGUN’S CONTROVERSIAL RED CARD
Football is certainly not baseball, where the rules are constantly changing. But if there were one, Harkes would like red cards in one game not to affect others.
“That’s way above my pay grade, but at the same time, a lot of people discuss it constantly. So let’s take a look at this and see: Does it make sense? I don’t think it does. Not in a tournament format. I don’t think so,” he said.
Unfortunately for the United States, no one can do anything. Article 9.6 of the 2026 World Cup regulations reads: “Protests may not be lodged against the referee’s decisions regarding facts relating to the game. Such decisions are final and are not subject to appeal, unless otherwise stipulated in the FIFA Disciplinary Code.”
“If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second warning), he will be automatically suspended from his team’s next match,” states article 10.5.
Folarin Balogun of the United States receives a red card from referee Raphael Claus during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on July 1, 2026, in Santa Clara, California. (Getty Images)
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Even though it doesn’t appear Balogun had any bad intentions, the United States will have no choice but to find a replacement for someone who was arguably their best player in what is now perhaps the biggest game in American soccer history on Monday night.
