Either she was a bad ref which is doubtful since she didnt fall off a hay wagon and get to ref in the Olympics, or she simply had an awful game. There is no magic bullet here...no conspiracy large or small. She reffed an awful game and Canada suffered for it but she didnt decide the game. U simply have to go back to the 2011 world cup game US/Brazil to see that awful official can ruin games. First there was the bad call on Bueller that not only put them a man down but gave Brazil a PK. Then, exactly like the six second rule, they call encroachment on the first PK so it's retaken. Another example of rule never called until then. Then as if they hadnt done enough, they miss the off side on Marta's goal in OT. How were these games different? The US didnt give up and won it despite bad refereeing.
After hand balls and NFL tackles by FC USWNT in the box, Japan didn't give up either but they still got robbed.
Arm against body. This is not a handball. Tobin Heath in the final, that was a handball. This is not. Sadly for your team, your players didn't have their arm down against their body later in this semifinal. They had their arms up and elbows out.
To reiterate, Rapinoe's was not a handball; it was unintentional because it was 1. "ball to hand/arm" 2. Her arms were in a natural position and she did not make herself bigger to stop the ball. source I agree Heath's should have been called vs Japan but I do think the Canadian conceded PK was the most difficult one to call. It was "hand to ball" in an "unnatural" position but the shot was quite close and the ref could have determinded the girls were protecting themselves. I wouldn't have called it.
Yea but that doesnt mean the ref was for the Americans. That's the annoying part of the debate. In 2011 at the WWC final a Japanese striker had a break away at midfield called back by one of the worst off sides Ive seen called in a big game. It was still just a lousy call. It wasnt an attempt to sway the game. It's this theory that the officials r rigging the game that bugs me. If officials want to favor one side there r many transparent avenues within the flow of the game. They dont need to pull out archaic rules that they r sure will lead to a handball. Sinclair's mistake was say the ref decided the winner before the game. Her tack should have been if FIFA cant supply competent refs why bother and play the games.
I didnt think Pinoe's was a hand ball either and I also think it fell into the gray area where the player gets the benefit of the doubt. Rapinoe was settling a ball in the box. If it had been deliberate or effected a shot it would have been called. Nault got called because it hit her bent elbow. Now I still wouldnt have called it because her arm was protecting her side and not extended but it all happens in a split second.
Next time you're running down the field with your shoulders faced forward, straighten your arm, pull your hand a foot and a half behind the line of your shoulders and slap the ball in the net with your elbow behind your back. See how well that works out for you.
I will get right on that, just after I finish practicing headstomps. I want to be ready for the next time we play Sinclair.
Indeed, If there was a real concern of the referee being involved in some form of cheating, the matter would have been referred to the police as seen in Italian/German men's football for example. There is a big gap betwen a bad referee and a corrupt/cheating referee.
Sinclair months ago said the referee wasn't rigging the game. She said the comment came out in the heat of the moment because she was pissed off because the referee was intimidated and biased.
There was an interview with Tancrdi and MacLeod on Equalizer this week. Tancredi said the Lloyd thing wasnt deliberate and it's pretty apparent she hasnt lost any sleep over it. When I saw it, it seemed to me she was just putting her foot down trying to regain her balance. It's not like she's looking down at the ground, aiming. The whole situation might have been defused if Tancredi had taken a moment to see if Lloyd was ok. Accident or not she did step on her head.