United States vs. Slovenia

I grew up playing soccer. I've played soccer as much as possible since I was about 4 years old. I've coached soccer. I've officiated soccer. I've played every position you can play in soccer. I've started. I've come off the bench. I've been to the World Cup before.

I've never in my entire life seen a game that was decided by the officials as much as todays game was with the United States and Slovenia.

When I was growing up, just like every other player in the world, I was taught that the ref doesn't control the game. The ref shouldn't determine the outcome. That I should play above the ref. All of these were said to me at one point or another by almost every coach I ever encountered in any sport I've ever played.

Yet today I'm stuck with the fact that the ref determined the outcome of a World Cup match.

There's no way around it. There's no changing that fact.

Going into halftime, the USA was down 2-0 and as I conversed with friends, we were all of the same mind. Its gut check time. Its time to pull your head out of your ass and play with pride. Its time to step up and say, "We're the United States. We came to play. You can't stop us."

A very short 3 minutes later, we scored. Landon Donavon, the all-time leading scorer in US Soccer history, drilled a shot directly over the Slovenian goalies head and into the top netting. Suddenly the USA was back in it, and had momentum oozing from their cleats.

The entire game changed with that goal. You could argue that it changed coming out of halftime, but if Donavon doesn't score that goal you have no idea how the rest of the half goes. When he broke through on the right side, looked at the top of the box for a teammate who wasn't there, then looked at the goalie... you knew.

Nearly 40 minutes and a couple heart attacks later, the equalizer.

In the 82nd minute, a long ball was headed down by Jozy Altidore and then Michael Bradley, Coach Bob Bradley's son, flicked the ball just past the goalie's outstretched hands.

At this point, the game was on very thin ice. It was a 10 minute scramble to the finish line. At this point, this was the best game of the World Cup so far in my opinion.

Then it got interesting. After the officiating had been merely frustrating for the first 85 minutes, it became downright awful on one play that would have changed the outcome of the match.

Landon Donavon plays a free kick into the box from the right side. Maurice Edu makes a great run, breaks through the bear hugs of the Slovenian defense, and connects on the cross, putting a volley into the back of the net to take the lead... Except that it was called back for a foul committed by the US attackers. The problem with this?

THERE WAS NO FOUL!!

Replays have been shown countless times across the world, and I've yet to find one person who agrees with the call. If anything, there should have been three other fouls called against Slovenia in the box, which would have given the US a PK, or allow the goal with an advantage call. Bradley was bear hugged from behind, Altidore was wrapped up on his run, and Dempsey was basically form tackled to the ground. Yet none of this was called. Instead the ref made a call that has yet to be explained, and won't be explained.

FIFA has come out and said that there will be "No Comment" about the call, and that the ref will not explain the call either. Millions of soccer fans across the world are left scratching their head, and the US fans are left wanting justice.

If this were Columbia in 1994, the ref might be stabbed in a bar. That's how bad the call was.

That's all I'm saying.