This week on The Blueprint, hosts John Baney and Trey Fillmore step away from the raw wound of the USMNT's Round of 16 loss to Belgium and dig into the story that overshadowed it: Folarin Balogun's red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the bizarre chain of events that saw his automatic suspension lifted just hours before kickoff against Belgium.
John and Trey walk through Article 27 of FIFA's disciplinary code, and the "suspended sentence" clause that put Balogun on probation instead of suspension, allowing him to play against Belgium.
There are scattered precedents to the Balogun ordeal, with cases involving Cristiano Ronaldo, Nicolás Otamendi, Moisés Caicedo, and, further back, Brazil legend Garrincha’s controversial reinstatement at the 1962 World Cup all mentioned.
They also break down the VAR protocol dispute at the heart of the original red card shown to Balogun, examining whether officials were even allowed to use slow-motion to review what wasn't actually a tackle attempt.
From there, the conversation turns to the messier part of this story: The political campaign waged by the United States government to get FIFA to unsuspend Balogun. That means discussing Donald Trump’s phone call to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and wondering how much, if at all, outside pressure from the US president influenced FIFA's judicial process.
The strongly-worded statements from Belgium's soccer federation and UEFA condemning the decision as a breach of competitive integrity indicate there was plenty of ill will being sent towards the United States, but did the surrounding circus really affect the USMNT's performance on the field in the lopsided Round of 16 loss?
This episode closes by looking at what precedent this all sets for the rest of the tournament, and what changes, if any, FIFA might make to its red card appeals and to its disciplinary process before the next World Cup.
Listen to the entire episode at the top of this post, or find it by subscribing to The Soccer Journal Podcast feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you listen to podcasts.
