The Old North State Sports Desk

Professional Sports from The Old North State | Raleigh to Charlotte and Everywhere in Between

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

I feel like I just watched my home country get knocked out. What a performance against Argentina. What a performance in this World Cup.

Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

Well done, Cape Verde!

[Sanjay Sujanthakumar @tha_Real_Kumar]

#USMNT striker Folarin Balogun on his immediate reaction to red card:

“I think it was just important to stay calm. I never want to react out of anger and out of emotion. There’s still lots of people we’re inspiring, little kids, boys and girls who are watching, and we have to show them the correct way to handle things, even when you think it's unjust.”

On shaking ref’s hand postgame:

“As said, you can feel like something, injustice can happen to you. It’s not an excuse to be disrespectful… I'm aware that the World Cup might be the first time a lot of American viewers are tuning in. So it's important just to show people, whether things happen to you, good or bad, just to continue to be yourself.”

[Jake Fenner @jakefenner_]

At some point VAR went from eliminating “clear and obvious error” to trying to make the game perfect and it’s starting to ruin the sport

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

On the basis of the images made available to referee Raphael Claus, the decision to send off USA forward Folarin Balogun is understandable. From the vantage point presented, via slow motion and still images, the threshold of serious foul play is met.

This challenge did appear to endanger the safety of an opponent. Those ensconced in FIFA’s refereeing hub may see that as an open and shut case. Yet to most observers and many of those who have played the game, at any level at all, this was a miscarriage of justice.

To show the challenge to the referee at a different speed to the incident he originally adjudicated upon is to warp and distort the judgment, removing context from the call. Slowed down, an accidental collision can resemble a premeditated challenge. A bad challenge can become a horror challenge.

In the case of Balogun, the freeze frame and slow-motion images eliminated the essential context. This was a simple ball played forward by Antonee Robinson, where two players jostled for position, and as Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic got in front of Balogun, the forward, off balance, landed in an unfortunate — but clearly unintentional manner — on the ankle of his opponent.

In football’s history, it has sometimes required major incidents at big international tournaments to accelerate change.

FIFA must use Balogun’s injustice as a line in the sand, ending once and for all the unfair and disfiguring use of slow-motion and freeze frames.

📝 @AdamCrafton_

https://t.co/pSW8R7RbSS

[Tom Bogert @tombogert]

🇺🇸 Mauricio Pochettino thoughts on Folarin Balogun's red card:

“For me? Never a red card.”

[ESPN @espn]

"VAR made their recommendation to the referee based on slow-motion and still replays, which is not aligned with VAR protocols."

@andydaviesref believes VAR made the incorrect decision on Folarin Balogun's red card.
https://t.co/dXTyO1KwLY

[Chase Snyder @ChasingSnyder]

Laughing at Carli Lloyd trying to be as PC as possible and Landon Donovan cutting her off saying “of course it looks worse in slo mo, absolute BS”

[Caleb®️ @awsomehog1]

Ok hear me out yall we’ve got just under a week to make this work in Seattle #worldcup #usmnt

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

@paulcalixte1 @BearsShowYo I was just talking to a friend about this match. I remember exactly where I was (Lima, Peru) when I was watching this. Man, it still frustrates me.

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

Terrible decision by the ref. Terrible use of VAR.

[Gino Hard @GinoHard_]

The Carolina Hurricanes delivered a message after Rod Brind'Amour was snubbed for the 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame induction class 👀🫣

(h/t @Canes)

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

Hmm… maybe I forgot how to count but that looks like more than 7

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

Weird. I was told the #USMNT was going to get grouped??

[talmon joseph smith @talmonsmith]

"Alexi left us!"

Zlatan: “America, you’re welcome”

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

Convinced Alexi Lalas just learned the phrase “can’t hang”

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

WHY NOT US?

[MLB2NC @MLBRaleigh]

Everything boils down to this; Our opportunity has never been greater to complete North Carolina’s sports family.

The @Canes and Caniacs have put the Country on notice, winning the Cup in the loudest way possible. They’ve now matched @TheNCCourage with two titles.

@Panthers, @hornets and @CharlotteFC are coming alive and building squads that are going to be playoff contenders for years to come.

We have NASCAR and Pinehurst. Minor league basketball, hockey and of course, our historically rich baseball pastime. We have the best of the best universities winning championships every single year.

We host Little League Softball World Series in Greenville and @USABaseball in Cary.

Only one team remains.

MLB hasn’t expanded in nearly 30 years. Once these next two teams are added, that might be it forever. We have all the pieces to make this a reality.

The time is now. #RaleighOnDeck #MLB2NC

[The Old North State Sports Desk @ONSSportsDesk]

@mikemaniscalco @Canes Do you have a favorite call of yours from the series? Not sure what my favorite was, but that last one at the end of Game 6 was awesome!