{"id":137654,"date":"2026-07-02T05:52:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654"},"modified":"2026-07-02T05:52:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:52:56","slug":"alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654","title":{"rendered":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: ‘An absolute joke’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Celebrations have begun for Team USA after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also bittersweet considering Folarin Balogun, who scored his third World Cup goal in the victory, won\u2019t be available on Monday night in Seattle against Belgium after being shown a red card in the 64th minute in a massively controversial decision.<\/p>\n

When head referee Raphael Claus of Brazil<\/a> showed the red card to Balogun, the crowd at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium and the millions watching from home were stunned. Not only did the USMNT have to face Bosnia and Herzegovina for the remainder of the game down one man, but he would be missing the next match if they made it through.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After the match, former USMNT star Alexi Lalas didn\u2019t hold back his thoughts about how the game was officiated on the night.<\/p>\n

“An absolute joke of a refereeing night,” Lalas said during the FOX Sports broadcast.<\/p>\n

Lalas also had an interesting post on X involving Argentina superstar Lionel Messi<\/a>, which was invoked by many after seeing what happened to Balogun.<\/p>\n

In Balogun\u2019s case, it was determined that him stepping on the back of Tarik Muharemovic\u2019s leg, which led to a rolled ankle, was enough to flash the red card after VAR review despite both players jostling for position to receive the ball coming their way.<\/p>\n

USA ADVANCES IN WORLD CUP AFTER CONTROVERSIAL RED CARD VS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

There was nothing done with intent on Balogun’s end; rather, he was just trying to land with his right leg after being bumped himself, and his foot unfortunately came down on Muharemovic.<\/p>\n

But Lalas immediately thought about Messi\u2019s situation that occurred in Argentina\u2019s World Cup opener against Algeria. Messi was trying to get a ball away from an Algerian player when he was seen digging his cleat into the back of the player\u2019s calf.<\/p>\n

Lalas posted the clip on X with the simple caption, “‘Sup,” making it pretty clear what he was referring to. Messi wasn\u2019t reprimanded on the pitch, or after, for what appeared to be a more egregious action than Balogun considering he was looking down at his opponent\u2019s leg from behind before the cleat hits the calf.<\/p>\n

Balogun wasn\u2019t even looking at the back right leg of Muharemovic, though it was clear it could\u2019ve been an injury given the rolled ankle that was being stepped on.<\/p>\n

Either way, the USMNT will have to think about who will take Balogun\u2019s place against Belgium, as manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will deliberate over that key position against their next formidable opponent.<\/p>\n

But this red card will be debated for the days leading up to the next match, which will be held at Seattle Stadium on July 6 at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s<\/strong><\/i> sports coverage on X<\/strong><\/i><\/a> and subscribe to<\/strong><\/i> the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/strong><\/i><\/a>.<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Celebrations have begun for Team USA after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-137654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR<\/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:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Celebrations have begun for Team USA after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\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:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: ‘An absolute joke’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\"},\"wordCount\":530,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\",\"name\":\"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: ‘An absolute joke’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR","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:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR","og_description":"Celebrations have begun for Team USA after defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: ‘An absolute joke’","datePublished":"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654"},"wordCount":530,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654","name":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: 'An absolute joke' - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-07-02T09:52:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/alexi-lalas-rips-referees-after-folarin-balogun-red-card-in-team-usa-win-an-absolute-joke-137654#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Alexi Lalas rips referees after Folarin Balogun red card in Team USA win: ‘An absolute joke’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137654"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=137654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}