Referee Raphael Claus, part of USMNT red card controversy, was investigated in Brazil

The U.S. men’s national team will be without star striker Folarin Balogun for the Round of 16 after he was shown a red card by World Cup referee Raphael Claus in the second half of Wednesday’s knockout match.

Many World Cup fans took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with Claus and FIFA’s officiating rules. The Brazilian referee emerged as a sudden fixture following the USMNT’s win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Claus was previously investigated by his home country due to a 2024 CPI parliamentary inquiry, which summoned the 46-year-old as a witness regarding match-fixing and sports betting. Multiple clubs, primarily Botafogo, raised concerns over Claus’ decisions and alleged patterns of irregular cards in Série A matches.

Claus was found not guilty of wrongdoing by the Brazilian Football Confederation and faced no charges as investigators found no direct evidence linking him to any scheme. He wasn’t punished, and his involvement in the Brazilian investigation didn’t hinder FIFA’s decision to deploy him as a top official at the highest level.

This is Claus’s second time officiating a World Cup after previously featuring in the 2022 Qatar edition. He was the man on the whistle for two group matches: England versus Iran and Canada versus Morocco.

Claus has handed out one red card in 23 international matches and averages 4.4 yellow cards per game across 262 appearances in the Brazilian Série A.

Claus took charge of his second 2026 World Cup match Wednesday and has unintentionally cemented himself into American soccer lore.

The USMNT can’t appeal the red card Claus handed Balogun, thus nothing can be done for the striker’s status in the upcoming match against Belgium, set for July 6 at Seattle Stadium.

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