The United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 and secured their place in the World Cup Round of 16. However, Folarin Balogun, who scored the opening goal, received a red card for a stamp during the match. James Ducker, a journalist at The Telegraph, argues that this decision reveals a serious inconsistency in refereeing standards.

James Ducker writes the following:

It appears Lionel Messi plays by one set of rules while everyone else plays by another. The good news for the United States is that they delivered a very professional performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina and duly progressed to the Round of 16. However, to the dismay of manager Mauricio Pochettino and the hosts, star striker Folarin Balogun will miss Monday's match against Belgium in Seattle due to a highly controversial red card.

Balogun became the first player to both score and receive a red card in a World Cup knockout match since Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Zidane had no complaints about his dismissal, but Balogun has every reason to feel aggrieved, given the refereeing (or lack thereof) situation involving Lionel Messi earlier in the tournament.

On June 17, in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Algeria in Kansas City, Lionel Messi scraped Aïssa Mandi's right Achilles tendon with his left boot spike but received no punishment. In that same match, Messi also scored a hat-trick. It was at best an extremely clumsy action and at worst, it suggests Messi knew exactly what he was doing—his subsequent concern told its own story.

So how should we compare this incident with Balogun's red card in the 64th minute? Both players made contact with an opponent's heel with their boot spike, but Balogun's action was clearly entirely unintentional—a result of the two players becoming tangled during a physical challenge for the ball.

Beyond the frustrating inconsistency in refereeing standards and VAR, this also raises fresh questions about the obsession with reviewing such incidents in slow motion. The problem is that Balogun's action looks far worse in slow motion than it did in real time—and therein lies the issue. When you change the speed at which an incident is reviewed, you're essentially analyzing a completely different event.

The Monaco forward's eyes were on the ball throughout the challenge, and at the moment of contact, the American striker lost his balance and their bodies became partially entangled. In the process, the former Arsenal academy player had no idea where his right foot was.

While the impact on the Bosnia and Herzegovina defender was certainly unfortunate and unpleasant, it was neither reckless nor malicious. Therefore, the red card was extremely harsh, and Pochettino will lose a key player for the Belgium match. Under the rules, a red card can only be appealed if there was a clear error or if the player receives a multi-match suspension.

It is also worth noting that Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Sead Kolasinac and United States forward Christian Pulisic rushed to comfort their former Arsenal teammate.

Balogun scored his third goal of the tournament just before halftime, giving his team a 1-0 lead. Had that red card swung the match in Bosnia and Herzegovina's favor, it would have been a tragedy for the United States. However, Pochettino's side remained composed and comfortably saw out the remaining 26 minutes plus 10 minutes of added time, and even extended their lead.

Malik Tilman made it 2-0 late in the match with a free kick, which Bosnia and Herzegovina goalkeeper Vasilj clearly touched but should have kept out.

However, this will hardly trouble Pochettino at all. It was yet another impressive performance for his team. The only significant regret is the potential loss of their leading scorer for the Belgium match.

AI翻訳。

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