USA star Balogun speaks out on controversial red card | OneFootball

USMNT forward Folarin Balogun says although he does not believe he should have been sent off against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After opening the scoring during USA’s 2-0 win against Bosnia, which saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side progress to the round of 16, Balogun was shown a straight red in the 64th minute after a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic following a VAR review.

The former Arsenal striker will now be missing for USA’s clash against Belgium with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.

“I think it was important for me to say, obviously, first and foremost, it was totally unintentional, which I’m sure a lot of people know,” Balogun said. “I think the choice of the referee was, of course, his choice, but I don’t think it was the correct call. I think a yellow card would have been fair, just due to it not being intentional.

“Also, there’s not many places I can place my foot in such a scenario. I think it’s happened and it’s something I have to accept and just move forward from.”

Balogun’s sending off was the second red card of his career, and something the forward admits is difficult to deal with.

“Just a tonne of emotion. It’s difficult to see red at any time, especially now in such a high-pressure tournament, in such a high-pressure situation. 

“There was many emotions, but for me the most important thing was just trying to stay calm. I think I didn’t want to react out of emotion, out of anger. I had to just accept that the decision was made, whether I agreed with it or not, and just try to also think about how I can help moving forward”