Referee Rafael Claus reached for the red card moments after a VAR review, sending Folarin Balogun off for a challenge on Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the Round of 32. It didn’t take fans long to react. Many flooding social media that the decision was too harsh, unfair and more. FIFA later on suspended the ban and made Bologun available to play against Belgium on Monday. However, the outrage shifted overnight. Many questioned the governing body’s intervention instead. That dramatic shift in public reaction is exactly what caught Dave Portnoy’s attention, and he did not hold back.

“If you are against this and you’re a United States citizen, deported. I want you out of the country,” Portnoy blasted the Americans on Barstool Sports. “You think this is wrong, deported. I want you on the first bus, plane, or train. See ya. Go live somewhere else. This is about winning soccer.”

That being said, red card suspensions aren’t new in soccer. FIFA has done it before too.

FIFA invoked Article 27 to make Cristiano Ronaldo available for Portugal’s opening two World Cup group games. After his red card against the Republic of Ireland in a qualifier last November, FIFA reduced CR7’s 3-match suspension to one. He served that ban against Armenia. Thus, allowing him to play against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, the football world had witnessed similar headline-making decisions before. Back in 1962, Brazil star Mane Garrincha featured in the World Cup final against Czechoslovakia despite a red card in the semifinal. Illness limited his influence, although Brazil still celebrated a 3-1 victory.

But again, Folarin Balogun’s availability against Belgium for the Round 16 matchup on Monday isn’t sitting well with many. Especially with UEFA, which has strongly condemned FIFA’s call.

FIFA has ‘crossed a red line’ with their Folarin Balogun decision, says UEFA

The European soccer governing body also didn’t hold back in calling out FIFA for reversing the red card decision. “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision,” UEFA posted on their website. “Yesterday’s decision to suspend for a probationary period of a year the implementation of the one-match automatic suspension following the red card issued to the player Folarin Balogun crossed a red line.”

UEFA argued that FIFA’s decision to make an exception for Folarin Balogun during the World Cup threatened the sport’s integrity. It warned the move could set a dangerous precedent. They stressed that a mandatory 1-match suspension after a red card is automatic and not open to interpretation.

“When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake, and the credibility of a competition is undermined,” they said. “Equally, such decision creates a precedent in the ongoing tournament, where similar situations will now require an equal treatment, to the detriment of the competition.”

Well, the decision has been made, and Balogun will play Belgium on Monday evening. The fight to the quarterfinals is going to be an epic watch.