It was a fair decision by FIFA: former USMNT player
Former US men’s team defender Jonathan Bornstein discusses FIFA’s controversial decision to overturn Balogun’s red card suspension, allowing him to participate in the crucial World Cup round of 16 match. Bornstein explains why the decision was “appropriate”, comparing it to the Norwegian coach’s criticism. The United States will face first-place Belgium.
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup was a huge success, on and off the pitch. Visiting fans raved about the experience of coming to the United States and enjoying the country’s hospitality. Host venues across the country have been widely praised for their exceptional amenities and exceptional atmosphere.
But even the most successful tournament is not without controversy. The most important, during the first rounds, was the red card of Folarin Balogun. The card shown to Balogun during the United States men’s national team’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina was given based on improper application of VAR rules. FIFA then postponed his suspension for one match, allowing him to play against Belgium in the round of 16.
European fans, commentators and their football federation have gone crazy. But even they pale in comparison to the allegations leveled by players and coaches of the Egyptian team after their shocking 3-2 defeat to Argentina and Lionel Messi on Tuesday afternoon.
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Lionel Messi (10) of Argentina celebrates his team’s second goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 7, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan spoke to the media after the match and did not hesitate to criticize the refereeing.
“We showed neither respect nor fair play,” Hassan said. “A penalty was ruled out, and a second [incident] this should have been checked for a penalty for us wasn’t even checked by VAR. A second goal was remarkably disallowed, for one reason or another. »
“I want to put it in nice words and say, ‘Bad luck,’ but we were treated unfairly, and it was an injustice,” he continued.
Egypt had a 1-0 lead and appeared to take a 2-0 lead, only for the second goal to be disallowed after a VAR review determined that a foul had occurred about 20 seconds earlier on the other side of the field. Egypt scored again, but the 2-0 score could have been 3-0, making Argentina’s incredible comeback even more unlikely. Then there were several other questionable decisions, including a possible penalty that could have been given after a foul on star Mohamed Salah.
“We looked better than the defending champions – better in everything – but the result was influenced by internal factors on the pitch and external factors,” Hassan also told reporters. “Maybe they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Maybe they wanted Messi to stay in contention.
“In football, there are sometimes external factors that go beyond the technical aspects. The world champion received support at all levels.”
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“It seems there was pressure from the Argentine side on the referee which led to this result,” he added. “Life is unfair. The world is unfair. Okay, but why isn’t there fairness in sports? I’m not convinced by this result and the way things went in this match.”
Egypt manager and head coach Hossam Hassan during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt at Atlanta Stadium on July 7, 2026. (Catherine Ivill-AMA/Getty Images)
Striker Mostafa Ziko said something similar, saying his Egypt team had been “beaten badly” by the referee.
“We were treated harshly by [the referee] today, and everyone saw it. I won’t talk about something like that. We won 2-0. After the 2-0 result, everything went against us and worked against us. I don’t even know why the second goal was disallowed, I don’t see any reason. But we must look for a solution so that there is no second goal. He also wanted to ban the third, but thank God God did not grant him success. »
“It was a rigged game,” Ziko said. “It wasn’t our fault. That referee… looks like that match was fixed. We were winning 2-0 and he kept attacking us. Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup it seems.”
It’s almost certain that FIFA is happy that Messi and Argentina are through to the quarter-finals. Messi remains arguably the biggest star on the international stage, and interest and viewership will be higher as long as he and his team are in the tournament. But that doesn’t mean the match was “fixed.” The VAR review to disallow Egypt’s second goal seemed out of place, even if some of the other controversial calls were the type of borderline decisions that could go either way.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his second goal during the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday July 7, 2026. (AP Photo)
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The most important variable that neither Egypt’s players nor their coach want to acknowledge, however, is that if they had wanted to win, they simply could not have allowed three goals in 25 minutes.
