If you want to know whether a red card was correct, ask a referee. Graham Scott, who spent a decade officiating in the Premier League before retiring after the 2024-25 season, did exactly that for The Athletic, working through all 13 red card decisions from FIFA World Cup 2026 in a piece published July 9, 2026.

USA striker Folarin Balogun received a red card during the tournament. FIFA then reversed that decision following what the research describes as political intervention by President Donald Trump. The red card, and the suspension that came with it, were overturned.

Scott is not a television pundit guessing at intent. He refereed at the top level of English football for ten years and worked as a VAR official on more than 100 occasions. He also has prior form analyzing high-profile FIFA decisions, including a previous review of a disallowed goal involving Egypt against Argentina.

Scott’s decision to review all 13 red cards, rather than just the Balogun incident, forces the question of consistency. If the other 12 decisions were correct and Balogun’s was also correct, the reversal looks worse. If some of the other 12 were wrong and were not reversed, the disparity is harder to ignore.