Ref who gave Folarin Balogun a red card was previously accused of match fixing

Folarin Balogun's red card on Wednesday night was controversial, and it will cause the United States striker to miss the World Cup Round of 16 against Belgium.

Making matters even more frustrating for fans of the USMNT is that the referee who gave out the red card has a less-than-perfect past when it comes to trouble.

Raphael Claus was previously accused of match-fixing, and he was the man on the whistle on Wednesday night.

The accusations took place in Brazil's first division in 2023.

He was accused of giving out "irregular red cards."

MORE: The case for Folarin Balogun's red card

The accusations stemmed from the owner of Brazilian club Botafogo, who submitted audio recordings that featured a different official claiming refs were taking bribes.

Claus was called to testify, along with his VAR at the time.

The Brazilian Football Confederation found no proof of any wrongdoing by Claus.

So yes, there was an accusation, but nothing more was leveled against Claus at the time.

FIFA clearly trusts him as a top official, but that worked against the U.S. and Balogun on Wednesday night.

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