Same lack of Messi and Balogun, different criteria of refereeing: United States loses its scorer
Lionel Messi was forgiven for a foul similar to that of North American Folarin Balogun against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the American was sent off
The different ways of judging a similar foul between the Argentine Lionel Messi against Algeria and the North American Folarin Balogun have generated a wave of criticism and questions against FIFA for having resorted to a “double standard” that left the South American without a sanction and an expulsion for the American.
After Folarin Balogun was sent off for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina's number four in the 64th minute, Brazilian referee Raphael Claus was asked by VAR to judge the American's foul on Tarik Muharemović, while Poland's Szymon Marciniak, whistler for Algeria against Argentina, was not called by VAR.
For this reason, an atmosphere of controversy was generated, accusing FIFA of a double standard committed to protecting the economic aspect by forgiving the Argentine star of the red card for the simple fact of leaving unpunished the foul committed against the Algerian which, according to the new arbitration criteria, was an automatic red card.
For this reason, the discontent of the fans was expressed on social networks after the expulsion of Folarin Balogun with the United States, where users and analysts immediately highlighted the double handling in the criterion of the whistlers in the same foul.
This situation caused an immense majority of fans to question the spirit of fair play that FIFA so advocates, when in the first moments of change it is noted that there are teams that seem untouchable, like the Argentine, with the aim of clearing their way to the grand final.
The extensive video review of both plays and the in-depth analysis of it on American television further opened the horizon of criticism, considering that Balogun did not deserve the red card for that play and that it should have been judged in the same way as that of Lionel Messi.
These actions in the use of VAR and the severity in the virtual offside have placed FIFA in the eye of the hurricane, especially because it is considered that technology is destroying the essence of football, the flavor of controversy, leaving the margin of error to the human eye and not to technology, especially because at the end of the day the markings emanate from human criteria.