The crux of the situation , to me, is the american striker, attempts to play through an opponent to get the ball, from behind the opponent, with the opponent's back turned to him, if the ball is between the two players, in a situation where only two players are involved, it is more understandable.  

Also the ball had just arrived to that opponent from the air, was not on the ground from a ground pass, where they were arguing over it for awhile.  Nor was it in the opponent's possession but for a split second, literally, i think.  The call should stand (nfl speak), unless evidence, which the var was consulted at match time.  

Now, every situation is slightly different, rain, snow, wind, all kinds of stuff can affect a game. Slips with weather, the ball takes a different course of flight, b/c the wind blew it off course, which does happen now and then.   Generally speaking, it is not a good idea, dangerous indeed, to go through another play, with the ball in between two players, simple situation, obviously sometimes, 3 or 4 players, etc are going for ball. 

 If the intent is bad or inappropriate, different ways to word stuff, which to me is one of the  most important things to consider, and it is not easy to judge intent, yesterday a Paraguayan player hit a French player in his face, way away from the ball, he wasn't patting his opponent in the head, like they do sometimes before the match and after, maybe his head turned at the last second, whatever, different stuff should be taken into consideration.   

Judging the game w/o being in it, the players are pro athletes and move very quickly, it is not easy to hit a moving target (in a general sense), so to me, that should be direct red, b/c why would one player need to hit another in the face?  That also sets a dangerous precedent and why there are rules and why they should be clear, b/c if the team that got hit was like oh, u don't have a problem with it, then i will pop u in the head.

The reason Zidane was kicked out in the 2006 final, he head butted, which was a danger to himself a little, not wise to use ur head as a striking force in general, the Paraguayan player took his hand, in an open way or closed, forgot which, but he definitely struck at the French player, in the man's face, why? Violent or disrespect, to me, direct red, away from the ball.

Also, the way some of the stuff is worded, again, to me, is somewhat vague, in the ifab rules.

Politics, clear and simple, July 4th yesterday, the usa plays, manana, tomorrow, like how does politics NOT enter into all this?   The american striker really hurt his opponent, unnecessary, the ball was on the OTHER side of his opponent, violent play, unnecessary play and a dangerous precedent, he could have broken the other player's ankle, i think it was deserved the red, def. at least yellow, and now politics says, we reverse stuff.....unless it is VERY clear, and there was definite proof of bias from the referee, or something similar.  

Also, how things are usually done, precedent, which should be followed, fifa is fifa b/c it is the same organization, yes changes if they make sense, but with my stuff before, they tend to prefer stuff, certain countries, types of people, etc.  The final is in the usa, the majority of the matches are in the usa, oh so suspicious.

They could reverse yellows to push this even further, why stop at reds?  Yellow in one match, yellow in the next, miss the 3rd match, so if a player gets one yellow in the quarters, one in the semis, and then misses the final and is a star, a call is made and they reverse one yellow, i am sure it is political, FIFA president was just in the white house, here in DC, several months ago

How USA Players Learned Folarin Balogun's Red-Card Suspension Was Reversed

SEATTLE — Imagine sitting on a bus heading to training, just minding your own business. Maybe you’re listening to music or playing Clash Royale or zoning out, preparing for the biggest game of your career.

Then, all of a sudden, you get bombarded with breaking news alerts from social media and family members asking if it’s true.

That’s what the U.S. men’s national team players experienced Sunday morning when it was confirmed that starting striker Folarin Balogun would be able to play in Monday’s massive round of 16 match vs. Belgium.