I still have not figured out why the referee from Mali, Koman Coulibaly disallowed that goal in the 84th minute. Maurice Edu was not offside when he made that run. Some unclear explanation of an infringement. In fact, Michael Bradley was blatantly mugged by a Slovenian defender in clear view and it should have been an immediate spot kick.
Terrible refereeing denied the US a famous victory after a stirring comeback. The US are making a habit of this aren’t they? Coming from behind. Not for the fainthearted. This was by far the most engrossing match of the World Cup. Spoiled in the end by a piece of incompetent or worse, biased refereeing.
The result is that Group C is up for grabs. Even Algeria with their draw against England can top Group B.
2 comments on “Video: The US were robbed!”
First, I am an american. Second, I am a certified experienced veteran referee.
Here is why the goal was disallowed:
It was a “makeup” call.
Note that the Assistant Referee made not one move on the supposed foul to Altidore of the US that set up the free kick with the disallowed goal. The center referee called it from the equivalent of half a mile away.
I presume that while the referee was setting up the free kick, the AR talked to the referee through the headphones and told him he made a huge mistake and that he could not let the US win on such a miscarriage. (if anything, altidore should have been given a yellow for taking a dive).
Perhaps the supervisor ordered him to call a fould on the us. Stranger things have happened.
In any event, look at the replay of the free kick. The ref has his whistle in his mouth before the ball was played. And was signalling (meekly) for a free kick for slovenia as the ball was just in the air.
THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. The ref’s misfortune was that there was no one to call a foul on for the US.
Has anyone yet explained why millions, excuse me, a billion viewers know from replay exactly what happened on the play but the person making the call hasn’t even a clue to explain what he saw. Bring on the video referee, there’s too much at stake – ask any Irishman.