"The only other time it appears to have been made in recent history was in a 2002 Premier League game between the Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, according to Sports Illustrated columnist Grant Wahl.

Bolton goalie Jussi Jaaskelainen was penalized for holding the ball too long in that game and the resulting free kick led to a tying goal. Newcastle went on to win 3-2."

http://www.thestar.com/sports/london2012/football/article/1238210--london-2012-soccer-controversial-call-against-canada-in-u-s-semifinal-rarely-made

Lord_Bob said: For the record, if I were in the ref's position I wouldn't have carded Wambach. I mean, I know that's what the Laws say to do but it wasn't an excessive protest and it's very, very rare in a high-level match to card a player for something like that. So I'd let it go, maybe give Wambach a talking to.

Which of course has no parallels to how anything else in that game should have been handled.

But thats how it should have played out, then the ref would have went up to McLeod and given her a stern warning with the whole hand waving "No more bullshit" symbol and be done with it. Moving on.

Whats being left out because of "the call" is the run of form from all the officiating leading up to that point. The sideline refs were non existant and there were so many missed calls on both sides that this game must be looked at from a disciplinary POV by FIFA.

I have never experienced that watching a Canadian team play soccer, its even worse than the 2007 Gold Cup semi vs. US for the men.

Double edged sword speaking out against officiating, CSA will not do it (thats been proven in the past) so the players themselves must. With that comes the risk of getting suspended or fined, its all there in black and white. FIFA rules.

Posted this response on another site: The best way to keep everyone else quiet is to silence the dissidents publicly and quickly… Dictatorship 101.

Here are the comments that FIFA is supposedly looking into.

Christine Sinclair:

Obviously, we're disappointed and upset. We felt that the referee took it away from us, so, yes, we are disappointed. We feel like we didn't lose, we feel like it was taken from us. It's a shame in a game like that, which is so important, that the ref decided the result before the game started.

Christine Sinclair again:

It’s a shame that in such an important and even game that the ref had such an impact on it. We feel cheated. It’s a shame that in a game as important as that, the ref decided the result before it started.

More from Sinclair:

When she gave the penalty, she giggled and said nothing, Classy!

Maybe the referee will wear a Canadian jersey for [the bronze medal game].

Erin McCleod

We feel like we got robbed in this game. The referee was very one-sided. I have never known this to happen before in a game, referees never make this kind of decision.

Melissa Tancredi:

She could have done a better job. A way better job. This is the semi-finals. We’re supposed to be professionals and they should act like one, too. I feel robbed. That’s all I can say. I said to her: ‘I hope you can sleep tonight and put on your American jersey because that’s who you played for today.’

Incidentally, the FIFA disciplinary issue is now the top story on both the CBC and Globe and Mail web sites.

Haha the prime minister was just on sportsnet commenting on the game!

TSN have announced ratings for Monday's #canWNT v USA match. Average audience: 3.84 million. Total reach in Canada: 10.7 million.

Amazing is 6.2 Million Canadians Watch Usain Bolt Win Gold: Day 9 at London 2012 is Most-Watched Yet.

I think these comments are worth the risk of a suspension. I know people will call it unprofessional but these women had their emotions dripping on the field. They had nothing left, no filter, and if FIFA wants to suspend them for it I am at peace with that. I for one, feel blessed to see them saying things so openly and raw like that. I wish we had more of that in sports. Disgraceful officiating needs to be called out and not put under the carpet by FIFA bully tactics with threats of suspensions and fines. Sometimes the fine or suspension is worth it to draw attention to such a big problem.

I don't care too much if they win the bronze game simply because I think we are the Gold Medalists of this tournament and no record book can change that in my mind.

The Canadian women aren't exactly paid like professionals and now may face fines from FIFA.

Should they be fine, would we be able to set up something to donate to the fined players?

Despite the great tv audience yesterday, the Women's WC is not exactly a tourney poeple want to host. I'd guess the CSA's & Herdman's "no comment" is sufficient enough to get the players out of fines or any other further action. FIFA doesn't want to fuck us over; they need us to host 2015 and having the women coming in off a bronze medal with a hot US rivalry will be good for business. No need to fuck that up.

OldFan said:

I don't care too much if they win the bronze game simply because I think we are the Gold Medalists of this tournament and no record book can change that in my mind.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're the rightful gold medalists. That would be dismissing the accomplishments of Japan, the team that Canada should be playing in the finals. After all, they are the current world champions and defeated our girls in the group stage. A Canadian victory in the finals was by no means guaranteed.

spinrack said:

OldFan said:

I don't care too much if they win the bronze game simply because I think we are the Gold Medalists of this tournament and no record book can change that in my mind.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that they're the rightful gold medalists. That would be dismissing the accomplishments of Japan, the team that Canada should be playing in the finals. After all, they are the current world champions and defeated our girls in the group stage. A Canadian victory in the finals was by no means guaranteed.

Not to mention that there was a very real chance the US scored a tying goal even without the refereed decision. After all, they had scored two in the previous 15 minutes so recent history suggests there were more goals to come in this game.

Either way though - I'm very proud of the girls.

I don't know about you guys... but in a weird way, after this loss, I officially have an emotional connection with the women's team now. Had they won, I would have been happy but I doubt I'd be this connected to them. Sometimes a loss brings everyone closer together. Let's just hope this is the act in the script that leads up to the fairy tale ending of the girls winning the WC on home soil. It would almost be worth it then!

Jay_Duke said: The Canadian women aren't exactly paid like professionals and now may face fines from FIFA.

Should they be fine, would we be able to set up something to donate to the fined players?

There is already talk of it being crowd funded.

bili said: I don't know about you guys... but in a weird way, after this loss, I officially have an emotional connection with the women's team now. Had they won, I would have been happy but I doubt I'd be this connected to them.

Strength through adversity ... if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. Couldn't agree more. We Canadians love a good "us vs. them" story.

Not really. "Dad defends daughter" does not, in fact, count as a story.

Here is Abby Wambach's explanation of her role in the situation:

[Wambach] told reporters in Manchester on Tuesday that she began running near Pederson and counting off the seconds as McLeod held the ball.

“I wasn’t yelling, I was just counting,” she said. “I probably did it five to seven times. I got to 10 seconds right next to the referee, and at 10 seconds she blew the whistle.” Wambach said that McLeod held on to the ball for at least 15 seconds on a couple of occasions in the first half when she was counting.

“Yes it’s uncharacteristic,” Wambach said of the call. “But the rules are the rules. You can say it’s gamesmanship, you can say it’s smart, but I’m a competitor. We needed to get a goal. They’re trying to waste time; I’m trying to speed it up.

“I think making the referee aware of a situation, there is nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day, the ref made the decision on her own.”

McLeod admitted that she was warned at half-time about taking too long to put the ball in play, but took it as a run of the mill admonition.

I hope football/soccer doesn't head down the same path as boxing did way back when...

The officials at the olympics were horrible, not only in the women's Canada/US game, but also in the men's Honduras/Brazil game. As a neutral watching the brazil/honduras game it was absolute BS that the ref basically handed the game to Brazil for no apparent reason. the double yellow card in less than a minute, penalty shoot, and a second double yellow in a game where there was very little physical contact is beyond stupidity & corruption.

Obviously there is considerations being made to the financial implications of not having certain teams play in certain games. Or this was the worse case of a goalie holding onto a ball in 10 years. One of the two has to be true, and I don't believe its the latter.

Blueprint said: Bite your tongue Martin Rennie!

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Vancouver+Whitecaps+Canada+Olympic+soccer+loss+hold+ball+long/7053805/story.html

yeah, a little pissed at Rennie. The rule isn't the point. The point is it hasn't been used/called in years and years. Ask anybody who watches regular soccer for the last 10 years and I doubt you would find anyone who has seen this called more than once, and most people couldn't recall even one incident.

Penalizing a player for something that IS NEVER CALLED; is unacceptable. How can Erin take the ref warning seriously when she knows that his is never, ever, ever called in her entire national team career?

And really, indirect fee kicks INSIDE the 18 are a recipe for a hand ball penalty kick. All the kicking player has to do is aim it at the sea of bodies and they have a very high chance of getting a hand ball from the ball bouncing around like a pinball.

The ref can fall back on "it is the rule". That is a cop out. A rule is useless if it is not enforced and no player can be expected to abide by a rule that is not called in 10 years. That is why it is outrageous.

Think of our speeding laws. They are never enforced to the exact speed limit; in practice you get about 10km before they will pull you over. So, if the cops one day suddenly busted you for doing 51 in a 50, I would bet money that you could get it tossed out in court because it is an impractical use of the rules. People can not be expected to adhere to something that is never, ever enforced.

Here is something that I didn't think of until later this afternoon. If the referee really wanted to punish McLeod for being late, why wait until the 80th minute and do it on this play which is punishable by an indirect free kicks and is all but guaranteed to change the outcome of the match. Why not call it on a goal kick, and punish her will a yellow? As I have read today while with this play it she held it for 9-10 seconds, there was others where she held it for up to 17 seconds. These would be better times, no? Also after this call why wasn't Solo called the next time she exceeded the six seconds?

Call me crazy but I still believe the official was either grossly incompetent or there was a bais.

She called it because it was timewasting and Canada were leading.

If it was level, as was the case with Solo, she wouldn't be seen to be timewasting in the same way because her team weren't leading.

If she was warned twice, and who knows, maybe she was told next time I'll call it, then what did McLeod expect?

This wasn't the sole reason Canada lost. Terrible defending and goalkeeping also played a part in it.

You should never, ever lose a goal at your near post from a corner like that.

McLeod is lucky that this incident is glossing over her mistakes.

GoF said: Canada need to do things like this and stop playing so nice.

The physical nature of their game yesterday was a start. They need to toughen up in all aspects.

GoF, please don't take this the wrong way, but if you think the Canadian women's team's problem is that they "play nice" you haven't watched many of their games for a few years.

Lord_Bob said:

GoF said: Canada need to do things like this and stop playing so nice.

The physical nature of their game yesterday was a start. They need to toughen up in all aspects.

GoF, please don't take this the wrong way, but if you think the Canadian women's team's problem is that they "play nice" you haven't watched many of their games for a few years.

That was a pretty nice stomp on the head Tank laid out. :-D

GoF said: She called it because it was timewasting and Canada were leading.

If it was level, as was the case with Solo, she wouldn't be seen to be timewasting in the same way because her team weren't leading.

If she was warned twice, and who knows, maybe she was told next time I'll call it, then what did McLeod expect?

This wasn't the sole reason Canada lost. Terrible defending and goalkeeping also played a part in it.

You should never, ever lose a goal at your near post from a corner like that.

McLeod is lucky that this incident is glossing over her mistakes.

I always get nervous with McLeod in net; I don't think she is near the athlete that LeBlanc is. I do find her to be shaky far too often.

The howler of a goal that snuck by for no near post coverage is not really an issue though either, as the girls did go on to take 2 more leads and erase that mistake.

No one could honestly say once Canada was up 1-0 there would not be a mistake the rest of the match. It was shoddy, but not the reason they lost. McLeod is always an adventure (especially when not being assertive for clearing) but it was not the reason for the result. I noted way back a couple pages I felt defending was suspect, especially on the final goal in added ET, but now that I watch the match again - it was simply a forward winning that battle.

Fact is, even though both teams were scoring, looking at it again, the US was not mustering clear cut chances to score after knotting it at 2 (although they were the aggressor, it was all lily-ball hopeful after Sinclair notched the third).

At least that is what I see on ebb and flow after the score was up 3-2. It looked shaky, but almost bend not break mode. The official makes two debatable calls which lead to the equalizer and that simply is what really decided the match.

40mins of soccer later added to rebound of course - but to be honest the fact the Canadian squad was able to hang on for 40mins after having given up the equalizer under such dubious circumstances... that itself was a mental and fortitude victory. I would bet although it may have been tight, had the drama not unfolded in the 80th minute to cause the equalizer we are still talking about a Canada/Japan gold medal match today.

Also agree - this did not take the gold either, Japan seems to find ways to win, even with this stay of execution for the US squad... I still feel like Japan may beat that team - and perhaps this time finally earn the #1 ranking (still cannot believe as world champions they never were given better than #2).

Fifa got the rematch they want in the showcase match. The ref in question now is being told to have a seat (not working any remaining matches in the tourney for what it is worth), so hoping the girls can pick up the pieces and beat France to medal... which I believe was a stretch goal from teh outset anyhow?!

Canada will bring their full squad to the bronze medal game tomorrow.

A FIFA spokesman said Wednesday that “further investigation will be needed” by the organization’s disciplinary committee, and that no decision will be made before the bronze-medal match against France on Thursday.

Addict said: I found a clear, concise and unbiased opinion of the game, and from NBC of all places.

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/07/us-canada-referee-pedersen-goalie-clear-about-mondays-decision-wrong/

shock resource for sure - but a very well articulated and logical blog. Glad to see the girls will not face punishment until after the Bronze medal game. Regardless of the result, if suspensions took place before that game it is very likely the media and fans would have the issue really blow up.

If the players weren't punished until after the game, would it not then be likely to be the next competitive matches they would miss?

Are there any before the 2015 WC?