Soccer's governing body left World Cup referee Koman Coulibaly — who disallowed a goal that might have given the U.S. victory against Slovenia last week — off its next list of World Cup match officials.
Coulibaly ruled out a strike from substitute Maurice Edu that would have given the U.S. a 3-2 lead. The Americans, who had come back from two goals down, surrounded the Malian referee, demanding an explanation. Television replays showed the U.S. players weren't offside, and there were no obvious fouls by Americans, although several were being held by Slovenia players.
The latest list, announced by FIFA in an e-mailed statement, covers games on June 22 and 23.
Coulibaly's absence doesn't necessarily mean he's been excluded from the World Cup tournament, which ends July 11. FIFA announces match-official appointments as the competition unfolds. FIFA won't make an announcement on Coulibaly individually.
The ruling body wouldn't comment on Coulibaly's case yesterday, and said that the referee committee "has not yet taken a definite decision" on whether officials who don't make the list for the last group stage matches will be sent home. The head of FIFA's refereeing department and some officials will meet with the media today.
"Jose Maria Garcia Aranda will be available to meet the media at the end of the Open Day, but will again not comment on single referees' decisions," FIFA said in an e-mailed statement.
Bradley: 'Good goal'
Coulibaly was the fourth official in yesterday's 1-1 tie between Italy and New Zealand, responsible for keeping the time and duties such as substitutions. His inclusion in that crew was announced June 18, the day of the U.S.-Slovenia match.
The U.S., ranked 14th by soccer's ruling body, hasn't asked FIFA for an explanation of Coulibaly's call and, in any event, on-field decisions aren't reviewable.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley said the team had moved beyond the incident.
"It was a good goal," the coach told reporters the day after the match. "The only things that could be called are penalty kicks for us. You can speculate about which guy and everything. I think it's a waste of time. There was nothing there. It was a good goal."
First language
Coulibaly, 39, has been an international referee since 1999. The finance inspector's first language is Bambara, and he also speaks English and French, according to FIFA's website. He's overseen matches in the Africa Cup of Nations, the continent's tournament for national teams.
Going into the final day of the group stage, the U.S. is tied with England with 2 points, but has an advantage since it's scored two more goals. Slovenia leads with 4 points, while Algeria, the next opponent for the Americans, has 1. Slovenia and England will also meet June 23. Two teams advance, with the U.S., Slovenia and England each knowing a victory would secure a spot in the last 16.
The World Cup is often the location of refereeing controversy. In 2006, English referee Graham Poll was sent home before the quarterfinals after mistakenly giving Croatia's Josip Simunic three yellow cards during a match. He quit international tournaments.
Poll's mistake in Croatia's 2-2 draw against Australia could have led to the game being replayed. He showed Simunic a second yellow card in the final 10 minutes in Stuttgart but failed to follow the rules and give him a red card. Poll finally brandished a red card after the third yellow following the final whistle.
Poll's error didn't involve his judgment, and so could have been reviewed and overturned.
Among other controversies, Welsh referee Clive Thomas disallowed a goal by Zico at the 1978 World Cup, blowing the whistle for full time just before the Brazilian's header entered the net. It could have been a winning goal against Sweden.