btw, I loved the ref

Isn't it refreshing to not have a cluster f*!& about how horrific the officiating was?

I guess FIFA thought the red to jr was enough to guarantee the win for Brazil.

 

I'm sure the Brazilians thought they won 4-2.

 

That's the linesman, not the ref.

 

Yeah overall it helped us that he let people get away with a few things like holding grabbing and shirt tugging.

They did blow the call on the goal.

We can't expect to get that generous of a referee in the future, discipline is going to have to improve in the future.

 

Yeah, he had a really good handle on the game. Any lip readers know what he said to Bradley after the match? It seemed like he said something and then grabbed him to reiterate his point. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see, but it seemed like he was saying our boys fought hard.

 

We made it out of a tough group. We beat Spain. We deserved a fairly officiated match.

 

Yes, I thought the head referee did a good job officiating today. He had no way of telling if that ball crossed the line for Brazil and that is something the linesman needs to get right. I dont know his name but hats off because, for the first time this tourney, I felt it was a fairly officiated game.

 

i wasnt. he let kaka fall around, moan and foul away without even a warning.

 

I thought it was funny that you could read his lips after Boca said something to him and you could see him smilling and saying "Yeah I have to." during the yellow card moment.

 

No. That was Dempsey you saw flailing around and curling up into the fetal position (before realizing no one was paying attention and getting up).

 

And yet he still managed to win the bronze ball

 

I had that same thought. I was shocked that some of our players slide tackled and got the ball without getting a red card. Both teams pushed each other around, but the ref let the teams deside who was going to win.

 

True, but the ref makes the final call. As a collective unit, barring that one glitch, they did a good job.

 

You've never seen a Brazil game, have you? They get away with the most shit of all the nts. Fact.

 

I barely noticed the ref on the day. Probably means he did a great job.

 

grumble grumble, Felipe Melo should have received a direct red in the 78th minute for his elbow strike to the back of Donovan's head and neck, grumble grumble...

 

I think Melo had a yellow already, and I've seen that elbow given a straight red (Mike Videra vs. KC), so I think either a yellow or red would have be the right call. However, I think the ball probably (although not conclusive from any angle IMO) crossed the line so the calls didn't decide the outcome of the game.