With the United States battling hard against Uruguay to save their Copa America lives, a multitude of refereeing decisions went against them, leading directly to their opponents taking the lead just past the hour mark.
After a scoreless first half at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, the United States continued to search for the opener, needed victory to see their way through to the knockout round.
In the 66th minute, Uruguay went in front on a goal from Matias Olivera, but it seemed VAR would call it back.
However, after seeing images that seemed to show the goal was offside, the goal was somehow confirmed, which left fans utterly baffled at the seemingly nonsensical decision.
MORE: Read all about the referee of USA vs. Uruguay who made multiple questionable decisions
Was Uruguay goal vs. USA offside?
Matias Olivera scored the opener for Uruguay against the United States, but it appeared that he had strayed quite blatantly offside on the strike.
A free-kick header was directed on frame by Ronald Araujo, which forced Matt Turner to get down and make a big save. Unfortunately for the United States, the rebound fell right into the lap of Olivera on the doorstep, and he tapped the ball into the open net for the game's first goal.
A look at the VAR angle of the Uruguay goal vs the USMNT 🧐🤔 pic.twitter.com/VnOEe3jQvn
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
However, on replay, it appeared that Olivera was quite clearly offside on Araujo's header, and the goal went to a VAR check.
Yet somehow, it was confirmed as a legal goal, and Uruguay took the lead. Everyone, including Fox Sports announcers John Strong and Stu Holden, were baffled by the decision.
When the VAR image was shown with the lines drawn, it seemed to show that the big toe of Chris Richards was playing Olivera on, but even that looked questionable at best.
This was somehow not ruled offside after review 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Oh2Xn9Z7bK
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
Even so, CONMEBOL released a video explaining and confirming the VAR's ruling.
"[The VAR's virtual lines tool] identifies that the attacker who scores a goal was on the same line as the second-to-last defender," the video said. "Using the latter's foot as a reference, generating a single line at the same height as the defender and the attacker, which does not constitute an offside offense."
Below is a look at the full explanation from CONMEBOL along with the video and audio from the referee's chat with the VAR.
Referee Kevin Ortega under criticism after USA vs. Uruguay
The referee at the center of the USA vs. Uruguay match faced criticism from all angles for multiple decisions throughout the match.
Peruvian official Kevin Ortega had only six senior international matches under his belt when he took charge of this enormous match featuring the host nation under the brightest spotlight.
The most glaring moment came midway through the first half when he blew his whistle to show U.S. defender Chris Richards a yellow card. When Uruguay attempted to play quickly, he incredulously waved play on while the yellow card was still in his hand. Players who had stopped at the whistle were baffled and had to scramble, with Matt Turner making a save at the end of it.
The official pulls out a yellow card and then proceeds to allow Uruguay to play on 🤔 pic.twitter.com/8CSLusQCiv
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
Shortly thereafter, Ortega did the opposite, incredibly blowing a play dead for a foul when Christian Pulisic was one-on-one along the sideline dribbling into the attacking half. Suddenly, he failed to play advantage when the situation was obvious.
Right when the USMNT looks to have an advantage, the official whistles the play dead pic.twitter.com/NHk0Hf7cxz
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
The goal decision came down to VAR official Carlos Orbe, who hails from Ecuador alongside his Assistant VAR Bryan Loayza.
