The Qatar World Cup is now in the past, and although the tournament is best remembered for Lionel Messi and Argentina lifting the World Cup, not all teams get a fair shake in the 64 matches. There has also been a formal response to the controversy surrounding the referee after Uruguay crashed out of the group. The latest Football Country Ranking.
Uruguay beat Ghana 2-0 in the third round of the Qatar World Cup, but failed to qualify for third place in the group. After the match, a number of Uruguayan players were angry with referee Hibbert’s controversial decisions and attacked the referee personally. Cavani was so angry that he knocked over the VAR equipment. Now, following an investigation, FIFA officials have announced that four Uruguay internationals – Muslera, Jimenez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Godin – have been banned and fined for their part in the attack on the referee.
FIFA’s decision sparked complaints from fans. In that game Uruguay fell twice in the penalty area, the first time VAR intervened, Hibbert looked back and did not give a penalty; The second time Cavani crashed into the penalty area, VAR did not even intervene and Uruguay were edged out by South Korea on goal difference.
After all, the Uruguayan Football Association appealed to FIFA after the referee awarded a penalty against Portugal in the second round of the group stage. The referee later admitted it was a mistake and that VAR should not have been involved. It was because of the repeated errors that the Uruguayans went out of the game and hurled insults at Hibbert’s refereeing team.
FIFA is only investigating the Uruguayan for attacking the referee, but they don’t dare to publicly respond to the blind controversy of the decision. This is blatant protection of the child. It is so black and hateful! Hibbert himself had the audacity to claim that his decision was in line with FIFA’s expectations, saying of the decision not to award Cavani a penalty: “I was told that my decision was correct.”
By covering up Hibbert, FIFA is actually covering up its own tarnished reputation. It has fielded few referees in this World Cup who have not been accused of dirty calls and controversial decisions. Even Argentina’s victory was thought to have been awarded too many penalties.