Brittany Mahomes joined the chorus of soccer fans who were irate about the red card given to superstar Folarin Balogun during Team USA’s Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“That was some bulls***…All I have to say #USA 🇺🇸,” Mahomes, 30, wrote via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, July 1.
Balogun, 24, received the controversial red card during the second half of Wednesday’s game, after he made contact with Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemović and stepped on his ankle.
The play was flagged by video assistance review (VAR), which led to referee Raphael Claus taking a look. Claus ultimately gave Balogun a red card for “a serious foul,” making him ineligible for the rest of the game.
Furthermore, Balogun — who leads Team USA with three goals in the 2026 World Cup, including the first goal on Wednesday night — will also not be allowed to play in the Round of 16 showdown with Belgium on Monday, July 6.
A team cannot appeal against a red card or the subsequent suspension, per FIFA guidelines.
Despite losing Balogun, the Americans went on to win 2-0.
“For me? Never a red card,” Team USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the game. “Never an intention to step on the player. It was a normal action in football that happened by accident.”
Pochettino, 54, said Balogun was “very disappointed” about the call.
“It was an action that wasn’t intention, he’s sad,” he added. “We cannot do anything to change this feeling. This is soccer, this is football. For sure he’s going to help us to perform and hopefully we can go to the next round so he can be available again.”
The red card drew strong reactions from across the sports world, including from Brittany’s husband, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Man what……,” Patrick, 30, wrote via X on Wednesday night.
Jason Kelce added via X, “Man, somebody help me. That foul looked incidental from Balogun, shouldn’t a Red Card be given if there is either intention to foul, or an action that is aggressive and unsafe in nature? Didn’t feel like Balogun was out of control or anything, just looked like it kind of happened.”
Team USA, without Balogun, plays Belgium at 8 p.m. on July 6. If they win, Balogun would be eligible to return for the team’s quarterfinals game on July 10.
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