US defender Oguchi Onyewu was called for pushing down Razak Pimpong in the penalty area battling for a header at the end of the first-half. Ghana captain Stephen Appiah converted the penalty kick into a decisive goal in a 2-1 victory.
It wasn't a penalty. Onyewu made a good play. He just headed the ball away. He didn’t even have his hands on Pimpong; they were out to the sides, making a push impossible.
I think everyone should agree that was a ridiculous call. But was it the worst call in the ’06 World Cup so far?
The US played hard to get back in the game with Clint Dempsey's goal in the 43rd minute that tied it. The US would have come out at halftime even, with a chance to win the game. It isn’t just that the call was so bad; it changed the entire course of the game.
Of course the US could have played better in the second half and made more of their own opportunities. But that doesn’t change the fact that referee gave Ghana the momentum and put them in position to sit on a lead.
2006-06-22 08:41:03 · 6 answers · asked by Cornelius 1 in Sports ➔ Football ➔ FIFA World Cup (TM)
Definitely a very sad and pathetic call, but not the worst I have seen in this World Cup.... The most tragic calls have been made against Les Bleus... 1) Zidane gets a yellow card for taking a free kick too quickly????? WTF!!!!!!!! 2) The officials completely miss the fact that France scored a second goal against South Korea! 3) The officials missed what I considered to be a blatant hand ball in the box in the game against Switzerland! And I do love the USA but we just got outclassed in almost every match we have played in this tournament, and let us not forget that if not for our "captain" (maybe if captain is German for Vagina!), that penalty would have only drawn them level with us and given us a chance to go ahead!
2006-06-22 09:09:12 · answer #1 · answered by chris1lprice 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I haven't seen every match, so I don't know. I can agree it wa a terrible call, but with 45 minutes left to play, it was up to us to score a couple of more times. We should have taken the match out of the refs hands. We didn't, now it's over for us.
UPDATE: Chris below makes a good point, the the biggest ref screw up I've seen has to be when the French scored and the refs didn't call it.
2006-06-22 08:54:05 · answer #2 · answered by Rossonero NorCal SFECU 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was a bad call I think but not the worst in the tournament. I believe there were worse calls in a few earlier games. And though it changed the game for the USA, they just weren't in the game as they should have been...they should have gotten over the penalty and played for their lives and they just didn't...so tough call but Ghana really outdid them all around.
2006-06-22 09:07:18 · answer #3 · answered by aniski7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you, I think it was the worst call. I was still waking up when it happened, so I was watching thinking that you know maybe I missed the foul, so when they showed it again, I payed like extra attention, and I knew it was a clean play. Could the U.S. have played better? Of course. After they half they should have come out stronger, but I think that call shook us a little bit. However, that could just be my opinion.
2006-06-22 08:50:57 · answer #4 · answered by Leonor 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the penalty kick call today was by far the worst call....granted, the US may have ended up only with a tie and still been eliminated, but still, it was the worst call
2006-06-22 08:46:52 · answer #5 · answered by J-Far 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's one of the many bad calls ref make. Do I think it's the worst....yeah I do. It cost the US any chance of winning the match.
2006-06-22 08:45:05 · answer #6 · answered by hardcoco 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋