Lionel Messi got away with it! Furious USMNT left baffled by Folarin Balogun World Cup red card that mirrored unpunished challenge made by Argentina captain

The United States secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Bosnia, but the result was overshadowed by Balogun's dismissal in the 64th minute. After a lengthy VAR review, the striker was shown a straight red card when his foot landed on Tarik Muharemovic's ankle during a challenge for the ball.

The decision quickly became a talking point after former USMNT defender Lalas shared footage of a challenge by Messi against Algeria earlier in the tournament. Lalas argued the incidents were comparable, yet Messi escaped without any disciplinary action, prompting criticism over the consistency of officiating and VAR decisions.

Pochettino strongly disagreed with the sending-off, insisting Balogun had no intention of hurting his opponent. The USMNT coach also revealed that the forward was disappointed after learning that he would miss the next match.

"For me? Never a red card," Pochettino said. "Never an intention to step on the player. It was a normal action in football that happened by accident.

"He’s very disappointed. It was an action that wasn’t intention, he’s sad. 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."

In addition, Weston McKennie also agreed with his coach, stating that the players in the dressing room were disappointed with the referee's decision. He said: "I have not watched it back, but the guys talk about it in the locker room, and I feel like obviously the ref made a decision that he made, but I think it's questionable.

"I think there have been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasn't given at all, so it's disappointing, and I don't know the protocol of how they come to the conclusion. But yeah, from what my teammates have said, I don't think it's a red card. If anything, maybe yellow, but unintentional."

Meanwhile, Lalas questioned why Messi avoided punishment for a similar challenge, arguing the contrasting decisions highlighted a lack of consistency in how VAR has been applied during the tournament.

"That is not a red card," Lalas said on the State of the Union Podcast. "I understand that in the moment it looks bad, and when you see it on video it looks bad. But you have to have a feel and understanding of what’s going on. I thought it was a crap call.

"It should be said that if his name was Messi, as we have seen earlier in the tournament, he would still be on the field and he would still be able to play in Seattle on Monday."

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