In a game marked by controversy that saw the lone goal appear to have been called off for offside, U.S. men’s national team captain Christian Pulisic was given the cold shoulder by the referee shortly after the U.S. was eliminated from the Copa America on home soil with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay on Monday.
Pulisic tried to shake hands with referee Kevin Ortega and his staff after the loss in Kansas City, and although the referee reciprocated, Ortega did not take Pulisic’s hand.
“He didn’t shake my hand, which I think is normal,” Pulisic said after the match. ESPNHe stopped short of blaming the umpire for the loss, however.
“To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like it before today. It’s just unbelievable. That’s not why we lost. The refereeing is not why we’re out of the tournament.”
Pulisic extended his hand for a handshake but was quickly rejected, so he withdrew his hand, approached the referee, pointed at him and said something inaudible.
Ortega made a number of errors that seemed to go against Gregg Berhalter’s side and appeared to incorrectly rule a Uruguay goal in the second half, but the decision was surprisingly upheld after video review.
The U.S. team also lost to Panama in the group stage, but that was after forward Tim Weah was shown a red card and the team was forced to play the game with a short man under referee Ivan Burton.
Honduras threatens with legal action The referee issued the sanctions against Barton and FIFA for a poor performance against Mexico in 2023, but he also issued seven red cards in the last four games for the U.S. national team he oversaw.
Ortega appeared to perform just as poorly on Monday night.
U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams received a yellow card in the first half despite being clearly fouled by a defender stepping on his ankle.
Defenseman Antonee Robinson called Ortega’s performance “amateur” after the game. According to The Athletic.
At 32, Ortega is one of FIFA’s youngest referees and Monday’s match was perhaps the biggest of his career.
The referee also allowed a quick free kick while defender Chris Richards was on a yellow card, which nearly led to a goal for Uruguay.
In particular, FS1 game commentators John Strong and Stu Holden Deadly Broadcast host.
“The referee showed his inexperience and incompetence in this match,” said fan account @Gunners D3n Comment posted on X: “How rude to give away a free kick and a yellow card and then let the attacking team take a free kick straight away. This is awful and makes a mockery of the whole tournament. It’s frustrating to watch.”
The seemingly lopsided mistake, which infuriated members of the U.S. team who yelled at Ortega throughout the match, has some spectators smelling of foul play.
Ortega was involved in at least some controversy in 2022, News Media Diario.
“In 2022, Ortega caused controversy during a Copa Libertadores match between Argentina’s Boca Juniors and Bolivia’s Always Lady,” the outlet reported. “After Ortega awarded Boca the winning penalty kick, Always Lady appealed for a foul after it was revealed that an opponent had presented Ortega with the club’s shirt before the match.”
League director Jorge Bermudez dismissed the incident as “courtesy,” but many fans still haven’t forgotten it even after all these years.
Now, on a bigger stage, Ortega has led what is considered an embarrassment to FIFA. Corruption allegations As recently as 2015.
