HOUSTON — Mauricio Pochettino ranted and U.S. players complained about refereeing after their loss to Mexico in Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
The USMNT got outplayed and lost 2-1, but felt they should have had a penalty in the second half, and felt Mexico’s second goal should have been disallowed for offside.
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“The thing about CONCACAF is that I feel like we’re always one step behind with the refereeing,” U.S. defender Chris Richards said.
On the 67th-minute no-call when Mexico’s Jorge Sanchez tried to brace a fall and instead put his hand on the ball, Richards said: “Homie palmed the ball like Shaq in the box.”
“And then on the other end, we had a block, it was offsides,” he said. He was referring to Mexico’s César Montes, who was standing in an offside position when a 77th-minute free kick was taken. Montes didn’t play the ball, but was jostling with Richards.
“In any other league, it would’ve been called offsides,” Richards said. “But again, that’s CONCACAF for you. They hate us.”
The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but given after a VAR review determined that Edson Álvarez, the goalscorer, was onside.
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Montes was never flagged, likely because he did not prevent Richards from playing the initial ball, which was flicked on by Johan Vásquez at the near post. By the time Vásquez touched it, Montes was back onside — though Richards was still trailing the play, arguably because of the initial interference.
(Original video: Fox | Illustrations: Henry Bushnell/Yahoo Sports)
Pochettino and his assistants complained to the fourth official as that decision was made. An hour later, speaking at his post-match press conference, the U.S. head coach spoke for roughly four minutes — in response to two questions — about the refereeing.
On the potential handball, he bemoaned a supposed double-standard: “I’m not going to cry. I wanted to tell the truth. And the truth was that, if that happened in the opposite half, in the other box, for sure it’s [a] penalty.”
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He seemed to agree that it would’ve been a “silly penalty,” but argued that it should have been a penalty nonetheless. “The player [had his] knee on the floor. He push[ed his] hand over the ball. It’s not that the hand was on the floor and the ball touch[ed it].”
Former referee and CBS Sports rules analyst Christina Unkel, though, explained that, because Sanchez was already falling and naturally bracing himself, with no intent to handle the ball, the incident would be considered non-deliberate and not a penalty.
Pochettino disagreed. “That was penalty. And maybe 2-1 for us,” he said. “And maybe we now we are celebrating the trophy.”
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino was not feeling the refereeing Sunday during the Gold Cup final against Mexico. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
(Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA via Getty Images)
He insisted he was not “crying” or “complaining” or making “excuses.” But, he said: “For me, it was embarrassing to see in that situation. It’s a shame.”
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He then suggested the pro-Mexico crowd influenced the call. And when asked about Mexico’s second goal, he delved deeper.
“In this tournament, Mexico suffered two disallowed goals — the same that happened today. It’s difficult to disallow the third,” he said. “But at the end, Montes was blocking Chris Richards when the ball arrive[d]. … When the player from Mexico delivered the ball, he was in an offside position. That’s it. Nothing more to say.”
Pochettino also suggested that the foul that led to that decisive free kick — Diego Luna on Alexis Vega — should not have been a foul. He said that Vega “slip[ped] and [fell] down alone.”
(Original video: Fox Sports)
“You say, ‘Yeah, but the referee didn’t score the goal.’ No no,” Pochettino continued. “But … please, guys. When I [was] born, I [was] born with a ball in my hands, in my arms. And I know very well what it means to play football. I know very well. Come on. Stop. I think my player doesn’t deserve this. I think it’s tough. It’s tough not to tell the truth. We need to tell the truth. And the truth is that, today, we lose — yes, we lose. We need to be [self-critical], of course. But the reality’s there. Everyone can see.”
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Tyler Adams was also asked about the non-handball. He was more level-headed. “I mean, I saw it; I didn’t rewatch it yet,” he said. “To me, it looked like a handball. When you land on the ball and move the ball towards you, it’s gonna be a handball normally. But, no idea.”
