(Note: For those unfortunate few who hate soccer, you can just skip to the next post—and you are missing one of the world's greatest sporting events.)
Like more than 30 million other Americans, last night I watched the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 at the FIFA World Cup.™ The big talking point after the game was whether the "straight" (i.e., immediate) red card given to the American striker, Folarin Balogun, was correct. As a long-time fan of the U.S. men's team (and the women's team, see, e.g., my post here), it may not be a surprise that I disagree with the call. And I acknowledge that I lack formal training in the rules of the World Cup. But as a lawyer and former trial court judge, I do have training and experience in applying rules to specific fact patterns. That background leads to me question the decision last night. Because it is interesting to think about how legal rules apply in this situation, I thought a short blog might be appropriate and timely.
To briefly recap the situation, last night at about 63 minutes into the match, the USMNT was leading the Bosnian team 1-0. Then American striker Balogun and Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic came together as they competed to claim a ball high in the air. You can watch video of the incident here. As Balogun came down, the studs on his boot (e.g., his right cleat) landed on the ankle of Muharemovic. The referee on the field called nothing. But after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) looked at incident in slow-motion, he called the referee to review the images. After slow motion review of the video, the referee changed his earlier call and gave Balogun a red card for "serious foul play." This red card means Balogun was ejected from the game—and he will now miss the USMNT's next game against Belgium on Monday.
