{"id":4907,"date":"2026-07-03T22:06:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T22:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907"},"modified":"2026-07-03T22:06:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T22:06:20","slug":"us-striker-balogun-says-a-yellow-card-not-red-card-would-have-been-fair-at-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907","title":{"rendered":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 United States forward Folarin Balogun says he respectfully disagrees with his red card in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Read more Egypt wins in World Cup knockout round debut with 4-2 penalty shootout edge over Australia<\/a><\/p>\n

Balogun was sent off Wednesday for stepping on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic.<\/p>\n

Before Friday\u2019s practice at Husky Soccer Stadium in Seattle, Balogun said a yellow card for the illegal tackle would have been fairer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nowhere else to put your leg. It\u2019s going to be unavoidable,\u201d Balogun said. \u201cSo, I\u2019ve seen many different opinions and takes. But, for me personally, I think a yellow card would have been fair. It\u2019s something that\u2019s happened, so we have to move forward and I have to accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balogun has to serve an automatic one-game suspension and will miss Monday\u2019s round of 16 game against Belgium. There is no appeal process for a red card suspension unless FIFA assesses a penalty of more than one game, which was not the case with Balogun. He will be eligible to return for the quarterfinals should the Americans advance.<\/p>\n

Balogun has three goals in the tournament, including one to put the U.S. in the lead against Bosnia. He has matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude\u2019s four in the initial tournament in 1930.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old striker celebrated his most recent goal against Bosnia with The Silencer move used by the NBA\u2019s LeBron James, which the league\u2019s career scoring leader also celebrated on social media. Balogun, who became the first U.S. player to score a brace in a World Cup match since 1930, said he has experienced a \u201croller coaster\u201d of emotions as of late.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeen upset, I\u2019ve been happy. It\u2019s been surreal, to be honest,\u201d Balogun said. \u201cBut for me, I think it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion. There\u2019s still lots of people who are inspiring little kids, boys and girls who are watching. We have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it\u2019s unjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more FIFA considering earlier kickoff for Mexico vs. England at the World Cup due to thunderstorm fears<\/a><\/p>\n

It is unclear yet who U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino will select to replace Balogun in the starting lineup. Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright are the most likely candidates for the game against Belgium.<\/p>\n

When Christian Pulisic sat out the 2-0 win against Australia in group play because of a calf injury, Pepi started in his place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you miss a player like Balo, things change a little bit, but we\u2019ve been flexible,\u201d teammate Tyler Adams said. \u201cGuys have shown that they\u2019re ready to play. If it\u2019s Pepi, if it\u2019s Haji, we go a different direction. It should be an exciting opportunity for whoever has to step up.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be without Balogun for one of the most significant matches in U.S. history is still a significant blow. A victory on home soil over Belgium would clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup for only the second time for the Americans. The first time was in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love seeing how engaged the country is in our journey and what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Balogun said. \u201cSo, my role is just to continue supporting everybody, to keep morale high. And, I\u2019m sure for the game against Belgium we can really create a great atmosphere to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injury notes<\/h3>\n

Midfielder Cristian Roldan trained on his own once again as he continues to rehab a quad injury. Defender Mark McKenzie trained in full after dealing with a foot injury that kept him off the U.S. roster for the Bosnia match. <\/p>\n

Read more Woman\u2019s rescue at North Topsail Beach shows danger of inlet no-swim zone<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\n See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 United States forward Folarin Balogun says he respectfully disagrees with his red…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUS striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 United States forward Folarin Balogun says he respectfully disagrees with his red...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907\"},\"wordCount\":692,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907\",\"name\":\"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=4907#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 United States forward Folarin Balogun says he respectfully disagrees with his red...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup","datePublished":"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907"},"wordCount":692,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907","name":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-03T22:06:20+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3f672baf302b521556c67507082bdd11.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4907#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"US striker Balogun says a yellow card, not red card, would have been \u2018fair\u2019 at the World Cup"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}