That goal should have counted. Umpire Jim Joyce and referee Koman Coulibaly have something in common. A bad call affecting a game in a dramatic way. However, unlike Joyce, who immediately knew he had made a mistake, Coulibaly has remained silent about his disallowed goal in the USA/Slovenia game, a goal that would have given USA the lead, and possibly the win (and the three points that go with it).First off, team USA came back from a two goal deficit at the half, to tie Slovenia, which in and of itself was a magical feat to begin with. But when the Edu goal was called back, team USA had to settle for a draw, and a single point.
The only good news is the rumor that Coulibaly will be pulled from refereeing any further World Cup matches.
FIFA will now assess Coulibaly’s performance, and will almost certainly keep him from refereeing any more matches in the World Cup. However, this doesn’t mean that he won’t have one more opportunity to break the heart of another football-loving nation (yes, we love it now, and it loves us). Coulibaly may find himself barred from refereeing another match, but according to FIFA, he might be eligible to be a line judge in the knockout round.
Soccer’s governing body would be hard pressed not to keep this guy as far away from the field as possible. A repeat performance by the man of a thousand shrugs is, hopefully, not going to happen.
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