The referee who issued the red card that knocked US soccer star Folarin Balogun out of Wednesday night’s Round of 32 game and Monday night’s Round of 16 matchup against Belgium has stirred up tremendous controversy.
But it’s not his first time in the middle of a firestorm over a red card.
Rafael Claus, a FIFA referee of Brazilian descent, was once accused of match fixing in his native country in February 2023.
In what will no doubt seem even more ominous to American fans, Claus was specifically accused of issuing “irregular red cards.”
Claus was refereeing in Brazil’s first division.
The accusations were made by the owner of a Brazilian club, who obtained recordings of another official who claimed that other officials were taking bribes.
The case was taken seriously, and Claus was called to testify with his VAR. However, the Brazilian Football Confederation found no evidence that Claus had taken bribes or engaged in any match fixing.
That will likely do nothing to assuage the anger of American soccer fans who feel that Claus ruled incorrectly when he issued the red card to the U.S. squad’s top scorer and did potentially irreparable harm to Team USA’s chances of advancing to the quarterfinals, but those are the facts.