Domino’s Giving Away $1M in Pizzas After Folarin Balogun Red Card Against Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Michigan-headquartered multinational restaurant chain Domino’s has found itself in a sticky dough situation following the USMNT’s Round of 32 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fast food company had previously announced that it would be giving away a million dollars in pizza if a USMNT player were shown a red card.

Fortunately, such instances evaded them throughout the group stage. In the 64th minute of the knockout clash between the two countries, the hosts’ key forward, Folarin Balogun, was shown a red card following a VAR review.

Domino’s has confirmed that they will be moving ahead as planned and will provide free pizzas. They posted an image on Instagram, confirming the chain’s decision:

A promise is a promise for those that signed up… Hope the free Emergency Pizza softens the blow & makes the win taste even better tho.

Well, before yeeting into a fit of smart shopper joy, there’s a catch with the Domino’s offer. The offer’s only available for Domino’s reward members who signed up for the offers in May and June. If a customer fits the bill, they will be granted a free medium pizza with two toppings to go. The digital code should be used before August 2, 2026. Reportedly, sixty thousand people have registered for the reward.

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The controversial decision from the referee has been debated at length since it took place a day ago. The American forward, who plays for AS Monaco, was sent off after he dragged his cleats down the back of the leg and onto the foot of Bosnian defender Tarik Muharemovic while jostling for possession.

Balogun, who’s the country’s highest goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup, is quite the important piece of the US run into the pre-quarterfinals. The Yoruban Nigerian-origin naturalized player will now miss the important clash against Belgium as the red card remains as it is, since there’s no review mechanism after the game.

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino addressed the red card in the press conference. The former Spurs manager maintained that there was no intention from Balogun to initiate contact and the attempt to take the ball was well under the legal purview. Pochettino said of the incident:

Never was there intention to step on the player. If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that was a normal action in football that you are, you know, fighting for the ball and your feet land, no?

Despite losing a player and being reduced to 10 on the field, the USMNT defeated the European nation to advance to the Round of 16. Balogun scored the first goal of the game, making him the fourth person ever to score and be sent off in a FIFA knockout game. Malik Tillman doubled their lead with a right-footed free kick twenty meters out from the box in the 82nd minute.

USMNT face a persevering Belgium side without their central player

The USMNT’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina marks only the first knockout win for the hosts against a European side in the FIFA World Cup. It’s also their first knockout win since 2002, and now they face a resilient Belgium side.

The Belgians were in shambles against Senegal. They were two goals down and two of their main players were fighting before they came back in sensational fashion. Romelu Lukaku tapped in the team’s first goal in the 83rd minute, and Youri Tielemans took advantage of a cross to equalize through a header and pushed the game into added extra time.

After a controversial penalty, Tielemans added one more World Cup goal to his profile at the 124th minute, cementing it as the latest FIFA men’s World Cup goal. The Belgian side has proved to be quite the resurgent opponent for the USMNT. Before the win over the Bosnians, they had a string of ten consecutive defeats against European sides.

Furthermore, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a much lower-ranked team. That’s not the case with the Red Devils. The Red Devils aren’t as fearsome as they were four years ago. Nonetheless, they are still a Top 10 ranked side, and they have a roster made up of players in the top five leagues.

It’s not clear how Mauricio Pochettino plans to replace Balogun. PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi and Coventry FC’s Haji Wright are two striker options that have come up in the past two days. Pepi has played 40 games for the country and netted thirteen times. He also has the advantage of coming off a complete rest.

The lack of pace from Wright has been a reason why his name hasn’t popped up over Pepi. There have also been talks about shifting the team dynamics and play without a striker, but it is very unlikely, especially in a crucial win-or-lose match at the FIFA World Cup.

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