Head coach Mauricio Pochettino launched an impassioned defense of the controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban, thereby allowing the USA forward to play against Belgium in the round of 16 Monday.
“If anyone was harmed in this whole situation, it was the United States. Can anyone justify the idea that we weren’t punished? I mean, playing 30 or 35 minutes a man down in a World Cup knockout match? It’s not as if we’re benefiting. No, no. There’s no extraordinary gain we’re getting out of all this. I mean, ultimately, we aren’t victims, but we aren’t the villains of this story either.”
More from @tombogert: https://t.co/Hvpj87vVq9
@pokeefe1 random question - does anyone know Joe Lewis’s thoughts regarding the clubs current situation / recent philosophy shift? I know he’s been checked out for years but was he even bothered in the slightest about last season’s relegation scare?