Ernie Santa Cruz ✝️ 🇺🇸 ⚽️

🚨 Patrice Evra on Folarin Balogun’s red card during USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina compared to Lionel Messi’s challenge against Algeria: 🗣️ “This is exactly why people are losing faith in VAR. One incident is punished with the harshest decision possible, another similar incident is brushed aside. Explain to me how that makes sense.” “I watched the Balogun challenge and immediately thought about the Messi incident against Algeria. Football fans are not blind. They remember these moments, and they compare them.” “What frustrates me isn’t just the red card—it’s the lack of consistency. If you’re going to be strict, then be strict with everyone. If you’re going to let the game flow, then let it flow for everyone.” “The USA have every reason to feel hard done by. You’re playing a World Cup knockout match, you lose a player, and people are left wondering why the same standard wasn’t applied elsewhere.” “You cannot build trust in VAR if supporters leave every big game arguing about different decisions. The technology should remove doubt, not create even more controversy.” “People keep saying the laws are the same for everyone, but nights like this make that very difficult to believe. The biggest stars should never receive different treatment from everyone else.” “If football wants credibility, then every challenge has to be judged the same way, whether it’s Balogun, Messi or any other player on the pitch. That’s the only standard fans will ever accept.”