Team USA, however, made no excuses for how they were eliminated from the tournament. copa america Following the 1-0 loss to Uruguay, many fans and analysts are placing some of the blame on referee Kevin Ortega.
What he did after the match didn’t help him at all. Team USA star Christian Pulisic,
Pulisic and many others USMNT players Ortega was constantly under attack, having been labelled an inexperienced referee for questionable fouls and a lack of control over the game over the 90 minutes he was on the field.
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Christian Pulisic, #10 player of the United States, argues with referee Kevin Ortega during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group C match between the United States and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Sean Clarke/Getty Images)
After the match, Pulisic walked up to the on-field officials to shake their hands, and although he seemed to throw more words towards Ortega, the referee refused to shake hands with Pulisic when he extended his hand towards him.
This led to Pulisic hurling more words at him, pointing his finger in his face and then coming back to the line to shake hands with the final referee.
From a different angle of the video, Pulisic is seen pointing at the referee and also at the celebrating Uruguay players, indicating that the referee favoured the opponent during the match.
Pulisic also kept a high level stance when speaking to FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft after the game and said he didn’t want to speak on Ortega’s phone call, though he also said it was “utterly disappointing.”
His teammate Antonee Robinson tried to do the same, but he ultimately called Ortega’s actions “amateur time,” and the USMNT had good reason to say so.
USA knocked out of Copa America after heartbreaking loss to Uruguay
Fans were also upset with what happened to Ortega after the match.
“Wow @CONMEBOL this is the person you chose to represent you. Zero level behaviour from this referee. Actions speak louder than words,” one X user commented.
Another said: “This is absolutely disgraceful.”
Referee Kevin Ortega points during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group C match between the United States and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Sean Clarke/Getty Images)
From the start of the match, the US was the better team on the field, but fouls kept coming in when they were on the offensive. Fox Sports analyst Stu Holden was heard saying during the broadcast that even though the fouls were not severe enough to earn Ortega a yellow card, they should have done so soon because Uruguay was committing intentional fouls to stop the US’ advance towards the net.
Later in the first half, Ortega’s worst performance came when he was challenged by U.S. defender Chris Richards, who tackled the Uruguayan attacker, which was a clear foul. However, Ortega believed the foul was so severe that he had to pull a yellow card out of his pocket.
However, while all of this was going on, Uruguay quickly put the ball down and resumed play forward. While it is common for players to quickly resume play after a foul, the yellow card drawn by Ortega meant that play was halted until he blew his whistle.
However, Ortega let play continue. U.S. defender Tim Ream had to miraculously stop a Uruguayan cross attempt that could have resulted in a goal, and because Ortega had continued play with a throw-in after Ream’s kick went out of bounds, the goal would have likely remained.
Everyone was upset with Ortega, who showed captain Tyler Adams a yellow card in the first half after his ankle hit his leg while running after the ball, causing both players to collide with the ground.
The only goal of the night also belonged to Uruguay, when it looked like Mathias Oliveira might have been slightly offside. However, Ortega wasn’t the one to watch the tape when he eventually called for the goal to stand.
The second half saw U.S. players argue constantly with Ortega, particularly Pulisic, as the team looked desperate, needing a 2-1 win to advance to the knockout stage of the Copa America.
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In stoppage time, while trying to take a shot, a Uruguayan player hit Pulisic’s leg from behind. Although Pulisic had hit the ball first before this happened, he was angry, and ran towards Ortega after his second-chance shot went over the net. Ortega yelled back at Pulisic, who had to be pushed away by teammate Ricardo Pepi to prevent things from escalating.
In the end, 12 fouls were called against each team, although the United States was given two yellow cards and Uruguay one yellow card.
However, Ortega’s lack of behavior after the match sparked outrage from fans on social media, who demanded an investigation into whether Ortega was corrupt in the process.
Peruvian referee Ortega has been listed as an international referee for FIFA since 2019. However, controversy has surrounded him ahead of this match, and this was something football fans had already pointed out before the first whistle.
Christian Pulisic, #10 player of the United States, yells at referee Kevin Ortega during the second half against Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
During the 2022 Copa Libertadores, he awarded a controversial penalty to Boca Juniors that led to a win over Club Always Ready. Bolivian police searched Ortega’s referee booth after the game and found several Boca Juniors shirts he had given to him before the game.
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Boca Juniors said it was customary to give gifts to honour referees, while Always Ready accused Ortega of favouring their opponent.
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