U.S. coach Bruce Arena talked on Sunday about the refereeing at the World Cup:
''I don't think there's any consistency from one game to the next. As one example, a Brazilian player fouled another player 20 yards from the goal in their first game. No card. A U.S. player probably would have to serve six months of hard labour for that. That's just a joke. But it's not consistent. In every sport, big name players get the benefit of calls. That's common in any sport.''
''I think fouls are being punished too harshly without warnings. A foul sometimes is just a foul. It's not a yellow card. I think it's got excessive.''
''It's natural, the powers in the game probably get a bit more respect on the officiating, it's not unusual in any sport.''
''Do you think there's a Uruguayan referee on the plane home today?I would guess they're saying he did a good job yesterday.''