A red card that threatened to sideline USA's key striker has been overturned, and Pat McAfee is not holding back. Folarin Balogun will be seen in action against Belgium after FIFA lifted his one-game suspension.

“HOLY SHIT. LET’S GOOOOO FLO. #Justice,” he wrote in a reply to the latest development regarding Balogun’s availability. 

McAfee, the host of the Pat McAfee Show, was reacting to an X post by The Athletic on July 5. 

“Folarin Balogun will be available to play the USMNT’s round of 16 match against Belgium, with his one-game red-card ban that he received against Bosnia and Herzegovina suspended,” the post read. 

The 25-year-old was suspended on July 1 against Bosnia and Herzegovina for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic. Balogun received a red card and was set for a one-game suspension, which is a direct implication as per Article 10.5 of FIFA’s rules for the tournament. 

A report by The Athletic based on the account of many FIFA officials states that a team cannot appeal against a red card or the following suspension. Yet, Balogun will play in the game scheduled at Lumen Field in Seattle on July 6. 

This reversal was made possible by another Article of FIFA’s disciplinary code. Article 27 states that “the judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”

FIFA made a public statement on the Round 16 game development and also issued a warning to the striker. 

“If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement,” the World Cup organizer said. 

Balogun and USA fans couldn’t be happier to see this decision overturned. Like McAfee, many shared their happiness online.

Folarin Balogun fans celebrate the overturning of his one-game suspension

After Pat McAfee, a former NFL punter and kickoff specialist, made his X post replying to the news, many fans shared similar takes.

One such reply showed a picture of President Donald Trump talking on the phone. It was captioned as “LET BALO IN.” 

This reaction is based on reports saying that Trump lobbied for Balogun with FIFA. He reportedly spoke to  FIFA President Gianni Infantino on the day the soccer player was suspended and asked him to review the decision. 

“Glad it was overturned. Was poor decision from the referee,” one said. 

“WE ON GO BABY’,” wrote another as a caption for a video edit of Balogun. 

However, not all fans were happy. 

One questioned McAfee’s words in his X post. They replied with “Justice?” on an X post sharing a GIF of a person saying “right” sarcastically. 

Another reply was deeply critical of this move. They even spoke against ESPN and the sports culture in the US. 

“The amount of Americans that don’t see how insanely wrong this is shows they know absolutely f*** all about the World Cup. But I guess ESPN pays you the millions to keep driving their f****** clown car around the circus,” they replied under McAfee’s post. 

What are your thoughts on this?

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Written by

Akanksha Biradar