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Source: 30dB.com – World%20Cup-and-Referee
That’s in addition to the two biggest stars in the tournament, Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, going down as well. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the ensuing response from Social has been one of complaints against the referees, a common target of ire when things aren’t going well for a certain team. To be fair to the officials, there hasn’t been an inciting incident against their performance. In fact, in tandem with the newly implemented Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) system, the refs seem to be doing a solid job. As ESPN notes, if VAR didn’t exist in the group stage, “Colombia would have been eliminated; there would have been seven fewer penalties and two fewer goals plus two penalties would have been awarded; and a Peru player would have been unjustly booked in a case of mistaken identity.” Meanwhile, the U.S. didn’t qualify for the World Cup, but it can take solace in perhaps the least exciting consolation prize possible: It is the only nation with two referees at the games. Over the past 14 days, “World Cup + Referees” has a 27 percent positive score on Social.—Alex Shultz
Republished from 30dB