USMNT legend Landon Donovan broke his silence after the team received the news that Folarin Balogun’s suspension was lifted.
Regardless of how he feels about the situation, Donovan said FIFA “got the decision right.”
“It’s not for me to judge whether I like it or don’t like it. Obviously, in this case, I love it,” Donovan said in a video he released on his X account. “In the end, they got the decision right. Flo should have never been sent off. You never wanna send off a player, especially when they have the chance to play a Round of 16 in their home country.”
Balogun was originally suspended after he received a red card during the USA’s 2-0 victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday.
During the 61-minute mark of the match, Balogun accidentally stepped on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle and was given a red card.
Since he was given the red card, there has been controversy about the play and whether he should have received the red card.
The penalty Balogun committed has been compared to the same play Cristiano Ronaldo made during the qualifying round. Ronaldo was originally going to be suspended for his country’s next three matches, including two World Cup matches, but instead was suspended for the final game of the qualifying round.
According to Article 27, “The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.”
Like the play Ronaldo made, he and Balogun will enter a probationary period that will last one year.
“In the end, they got it right. You don’t have to like it, you cannot say it’s unprecedented, as this has happened before, go search up Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card in qualifying before the World Cup, and you’ll see,” Donovan said. “So the great news is Flo is back. I think justice was done, and let’s go, I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
