Former USA star wants red card rule change after Folarin Balogun controversy
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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 everyone else 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 I think I’m standing right 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 around and said, ‘That’s not a red card.’ And I said, ‘Oh my God,'” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think it’s a red card.”
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Bosnia’s Sead Kolasinac (5) talks with USA’s Folarin Balogun after Balogun’s expulsion, while Christian Pulisic (10) watches the World Cup round of 32 match between the USA and Bosnia on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Julio Cortez / AP)
Due to Balogun’s absence, the USMNT was forced to play with 10 men for the remainder of the game. However, a red card results in an automatic suspension for the next game; This means that a referee can change multiple games with a single decision, even if it is a “50/50” game, as Harkes puts it.
Harkes was a “victim” of a similar incident in 1994, the last time the United States hosted the World Cup before this year. He received a yellow card in the first and third games, leading to a suspension for the USA’s July 4 game against Brazil.
“It devastated me. I thought to myself, this is the world’s best coming together and you’re going to take a player off in the next game because of a yellow card?” said Harkes.
USA’s John Harkes (6) faces Switzerland’s Marc Hottiger (2) in the Group A match at the Pontiac Silverdome. Pontiac, Michigan. (John Biever/Getty Images)
FIFA ORDERS FOLARIN BALOGUN TO LEAVE USA TEAM AFTER CONtroversial RED CARD
Football is definitely not baseball, where the rules are constantly changing. But if that were the case, Harkes would want red cards in one match to not affect the others.
“That’s way above my pay grade, but at the same time, a lot of people are arguing that consistently. So let’s really take a look at this and see: Does it make sense? I don’t think it does. It’s not in a tournament format. I don’t think so,” he said.
Unfortunately, there is nothing anyone can do for the USA. Article 9.6 The 2026 World Cup rules are as follows:“The referee’s decisions regarding game-related events cannot be appealed. Such decisions are final and are not subject to appeal unless otherwise provided in the FIFA Disciplinary Rules.”
Article 10.5 states: “If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), he will be automatically suspended from his team’s next match.” The statement is included.
American Folarin Balogun received a red card from referee Raphael Claus during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match played between the USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on July 1, 2026. (Getty Images)
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While Balogun appears to have no ill intentions, the United States will have no choice but to replace someone who is arguably their best player in perhaps the most important game in U.S. soccer history on Monday night.
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