USA vs, Italy - we were robbed by the referee

Ok, there is just one thing to ask. What the hell was the referee thinking. I cannot think of a worse officiated game than the Italy - USA game. The USA was dominant, and played like they should. I love the game. They attacked and controlled the ball. Italy was not prepared or capable to deal with what we brought to the field.

I still think that Eddie Johnson should have been placed in the starting line up. And Beasley was not the substitution I would have made in the second half. Given this the team played with a fire and determination to win. This is what the American team is all about. This is where we get some respect in the world (in regard to this game). And to be able to hold the Italian futbol team from scoring a goal while being a man down for an entire half is just amazing.

But the referee was insane. There is no question that the first red card to the Italian player was justified. That was uncalled for, the elbow to the face. I’m glad McBride was unhurt, relatively. But the subsequent red cards were useless. Even the Itallian commentator realized that the ejections were wrong. Pope just made a late check, worth maybe a yellow card but hardly an ejection. It was no worse than anything in normal play in any other game. It had no comparison to the elbow red card. The other red card against the U.S. team was equally undeserved.

Every fan and person who watched the game recognized the situation for what it was. The referee biased the game and prevented the U.S. team from winning. There is no one who can question that with the way we played, given the 2 players stayed on the field, we would have won. The game was unbalanced, and not by play on the pitch. FIFA needs to remove this referee and this time make sure he never works another game.

He had been removed before for undisclosed reasons. So why was he brought back? Or allowed to be in this match? What ever the reason, the decision was wrong. It cost us a win and a 3 point position. The one man advantage was a position that the U.S. soccer team deserved to finish the game with. As you can tell I am very upset by this. There was no fairness, even hand balls by Italy were unseen. And while I realize there was a rule for why the goal in the second half was disallowed, it just added to my anger at the officials.

Given all this, the U.S. can hold their heads high. They redeemed themselves. They played an astounding round. There was virtually nothing more that could have been done to help the round. Except perhaps to bring in Eddie Johnson as a substitute in the second half around the 75th minute. Bruce Arena did a great job in surprising everyone with the roster. I only hope the game against Ghana will be as good and as well planned.

Speaking of Ghana, wow. They played an excellent match. 2 well played goals and strong defense. The only team from Africa to win so far and they deserved the win. The 20,000 dollars promised by their government for each win is the least they should have. The pride they now have will definitely inspire future World Cups. Though I wish it was the Ivory Coast, as they had the best reason to win. Yet there have been several great games in this Cup so far. Brazil and Ronaldhino look fantastic. Argentina is strong. Ecuador is a definite surprise. The second round will really be something to see.

This is what I think, what do you think.