Fans of the US men’s national team are lashing out at a former World Cup coach for his belief that striker Folarin Balogun should have received a red card in the Round of 32.
Balogun’s sending off by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus has been the most controversial officiating decision of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and has led to cries from fans to rescind the ban now facing the Monaco star.
VAR officials alerted Claus to a foul Balogun committed against Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic when the American striker clipped his opponent on the back of the ankle as he attempted to reach a lobbed ball.
After consulting the monitor, Claus brandished a red card on Balogun – removing him from the match and banning him from the Round of 16 match against Belgium.
A day later, in a segment on the ‘Coaches Corner’ podcast, former USMNT head coach Bruce Arena agreed with the decision – one of the few people in the sport to do so.
‘I’m hearing intent, intent doesn’t matter,’ said Arena – who coached the United States at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
Fans are slamming ex-USMNT coach Bruce Arena for agreeing with a controversial red card
USA striker Folarin Balogun was sent off after a VAR review of this foul against Bosnia
The red card will deprive the USA of their top striker in the Round of 16 against Belgium
‘It’s a dangerous play. That foul, he could’ve broke the player’s ankle… and obviously, there’s no intent by Balogun. It’s unfortunate, but you have to take into account the safety of the player and that’s a dangerous play.
‘If the referee issued a yellow card, I could see that. But with VAR calling the referee over, and he sees that foul in slow motion, I think it’s conceivable that he’s going to issue a red card.’
Arena added that he hopes that Balogun’s suspension is ‘just one game and he’s ready, hopefully, for the quarterfinals.’
Fans roasted Arena for his take – especially because it contrasted with the opinion of other coaches, former players and even former referees.
‘There is a reason I haven’t heard Bruce Arenas name in almost a decade,’ read one reply on X.
Another said, ‘Mark Clattenburg? Or Bruce Arena. I’m going with the guy that was [actually] a legendary official. Bruce even falling for the slow mo and stills.’
‘Brothers claim to fame was beating Mexico 24 years ago why on earth are we giving him a mic,’ one commenter posted.
The USA will re-match with Belgium twelve years on after the two nations met in the Round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup – where the Belgians won 2-1 in extra time.
