John Harkes, a member of the 1994 USMNT World Cup squad, was at Levi's Stadium on Wednesday night and had the same reaction as just about everybody when Folarin Balogun had to leave the game."We kept going, 'Wait a minute, that's not a red card,'" Harkes said of his reaction in an interview with Fox News Digital."You know, we're in the stadium, and right away I think I was standing there next to my daughter-in-law and our grandson, and then my son and my wife.Both my son and my wife, Cindy and Ian, turned and said, 'That's not a red card.' And I'm like, 'Oh my God,'" he said.
"I don't think it was a red card at all, to be honest with you."CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMBosnia's Sead Kolasinac (5) talks to United States' Folarin Balogun after Balogun was sent off, as Christian Pulisic (10) watches during the World Cup round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, July 1, 2026.(Julio Cortez / AP)With Balogun's absence, the USMNT had to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.
However, a red card results in an automatic suspension for the next game, meaning that one official can alter multiple games with just one decision, even if it is, as Harkes put it, a "50/50" play.Harkes was "a victim" of something similar in 1994, the last time the United States hosted the World Cup prior to this year.He earned yellow cards in the first and third games, prompting a suspension for the United States' July 4 game against Brazil."It crushed me.
I kept thinking to myself, this is the best in the world coming together, and you're going to make a player sit out the next game because of yellow card accumulation?" Harkes said.USA's John Harkes (6) in action vs Switzerland's Marc Hottiger (2) during a Group Stage A match at Pontiac Silverdome.Pontiac, Michigan.
(John Biever/Getty Images)FIFA RULES LEAVE TEAM USA NO RECOURSE AFTER FOLARIN BALOGUN'S CONTROVERSIAL RED CARDSoccer certainly is not baseball, where the rules ar...