Copa America 2024: Looking back at some controversial decisions that questioned the refereeing standards

Peppered with a bad decision here and a controversial call there, the match officials of the ongoing Copa edition have often been pulled up and given a rap on their knuckles for poor officiating on many occasions.

Christian Pulisic of United States argues with Referee Kevin Ortega during the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group C match between United States and Uruguay. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

The Copa America 2024 is in its last stretch as defending champion Argentina faces Colombia in the final on Sunday.

However, the journey to the summit clash hasn’t been always smooth for many, if not all, teams.

Peppered with a bad decision here and a controversial call there, the match officials of the ongoing Copa edition have often been pulled up and given a rap on their knuckles for poor officiating on many occasions.

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Here is a look back at some of those decisions that to date leave players and fans scratching their heads:

When the referee refused to shake Christian Pulisic’s hands

The Copa America 2024 Group C match between host USA and Uruguay, which ended 1-0 in the latter’s favour, was riddled with questionable refereeing decisions with match official Kevin Ortega at the heart of them.

After the final whistle, the USA skipper was seen going towards the match officials for the usual shaking of hands, but Ortega is seen refusing the American’s gesture.

The host was eliminated after this loss, and many put this on the referee’s shoulders, saying how the dodgy calls went against USA and cost it the game.

Here were the controversial calls made during this game:

• One of the many incidents where Ortega’s decisions were questioned was when he began to pull a yellow card and stop play, then allowed it to continue — while still holding the card — as Uruguay nearly scored on an attack. This happened in the 32nd minute, which drew much criticism from the commentators as well.
• Another instance where Ortega’s poor refereeing came to the forefront was when the U.S. had a clear advantage after a handball on Uruguay, but the Peruvian referee eventually blew his whistle and called the play back for a free kick for the offence that took place right outside the host’s box.
• Uruguay scored in the 66th minute when Nicolas De La Cruz swung a free kick in front of the U.S. goal. Matt Turner parried a header by Ronald Araújo, who outjumped defender Tim Ream, but the rebound went right to Mathias Olivera and he tapped the ball in with his left foot. Olivera appeared to be offside on the initial header but the goal stood after a video review.

Playing advantage after seeming to stop play for a penalty

Here’s another one that may seem a bit outlandish in the world of football.

During the Colombia and Panama quarterfinal match, in which the former was thrashing the latter with ease, there was a penalty shout by the Los Cafeteros after Daniel Munoz was tackled inside the box. This seemed to be acknowledged by the Italian referee Maurizio Mariani, who blew the whistle.

However, almost as soon as the whistle blew, Richard Rios smashed the loose ball with a thumping shot and found the back of the net, catching the Panama goalie off guard, even though he did dive for Rios’s shot.

When Rios’s shot went inside, the referee played advantage and the goal stood.

(With AP inputs)