FIFA barred two U.S. Soccer officials, team manager Sam Zapatka and vice president of security Frank Pannell, from attending the round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium following alleged protocol violations during a previous game.
FIFA banned at least two U.S. Soccer officials from attending Monday’s World Cup round of 16 match between the U.S. men’s national team and Belgium, according todominated the news cycle.
FIFA controversially suspended Balogun’s round of 32 red card for one year, enabling him to play in the round of 16 after all.team manager Sam Zapatka and U.S. Soccer vice president of security Frank Pannell reportedly did not. The USMNT lost and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament. Mauricio Pochettino was on the sideline without his team manager.
| Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images FIFA did not publicly explain the suspensions, but they were reportedly a consequence of incidents that occurred during the round of 32 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The officials alleged violated FIFA’s match protocols, specifically regarding who can be in certain designated areas, perZapatka joined U.S. Soccer in 2015 and took over as team manager in Jan. 2020. He was on the sidelines for the four previous USMNT matches.
Pannell formerly worked for the Secret Service and CIA before joining U.S. Soccer.
“Everyone saw from the beginning that we did not connect with the game. We were never in the game, even when we scored the goal , we conceded in the next action. It was really tough from the beginning,” Pochettino noted.
“Congratulations to Belgium, they were better than us. It’s not to find excuses, we didn’t show what we normally showed. That is the reality. ”Sophia Vesely is a writer, reporter and editor for SI FC, with an emphasis on North American coverage.
Her experience comes from regional journalism as a former sports reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, Dallas Morning News and Seattle Times. Vesely graduated from Swarthmore College, where she played collegiate soccer as a wingback. She specializes in MLS, NWSL and NCAA soccer.
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