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I finally found time to watch the tape of this match.
Overall, I thought that both teams played a very exciting match. The Italians did seem to make too much out of some of the fouls.
The red card for the player elbowing McBride in the face was fully justified and exactly what FIFA has been asking for over the past year.
Pope's first caution was also correct. He was the last defender and fouled the opponent, but was too far from goal for it to be a red card.
Pablo's red card, which has been much debated, also seems to be in line with what FIFA desires. He lunged at the opponent and spiked him in the ankle and foot. It was simply an unnecessary challenge.
Pope's second caution is the one that made me think. The different replays make it hard to tell how much he hit the attacker in the back of the legs. From one angle it looks as if he whacked him, but from another it seems that he went around his legs and touched the ball then made incidental contact with the legs. A difficult second caution, but putting myself in the position of the referee, I can see how it was given.
The US defenders committed a high number of fouls in the first half. The fouling really didn't stop until the second half when it was 10 v 9 and then it was a tremendous game to watch. Unfortunate that it was not 11 v 11, but certainly 2 of the 3 players deserved to go.
The offside call which nullified the 2nd goal by the US was also the correct decision. McBride was in the line of sight of the goalkeeper and that equates to interfering with an opponent.
My total assessment of the game was the it was called a bit too tightly in the first half and the 2nd half was wonderful. The referee did what FIFA asked with the cards, but seemed to reward the Italians a bit too much when the went down easily in the first 45 minutes. 5/10 for the ref.
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