Colombian captain blasts American World Cup referee for shamefully favoring England

Martin Rogers | USA TODAY

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MOSCOW — American referee Mark Geiger has been accused by Colombia captain Radamel Falcao of shamefully favoring England during the ferocious round of 16 World Cup clash between the teams Tuesday night.

Geiger oversaw a bitterly contested match and doled out eight yellow cards, while also calling 36 fouls as England broke its long-standing penalty shootout curse to move into the quarterfinals.

“I found it peculiar that they put an American referee in this instance,” Falcao said in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw, which ended with England’s 4-3 win on penalties. “To tell you the truth, the process leaves us a lot of doubts. He spoke only English. Some bias was certain.

“When in doubt, he always went to the England side. It is shameful that this happens in the round of 16 at a World Cup.”

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Outspoken Argentinean soccer icon Diego Maradona also hit out at Geiger, insisting that a penalty awarded to England's Harry Kane during the second half of regulation should not have been given.

"I saw a monumental robbery on the pitch," Maradona told Venezuelan television station Telesur. "I apologize to the Colombian people, but the players are not to blame as we don't choose the referees.

"This referee may know a lot about baseball but he has no idea of football."

The way the game turned nasty also earned the Major League Soccer referee some criticism on social media. In truth, if not for him taking swift action, it could have spiraled completely out of control.

Hard fouls were a staple throughout the game, and players from both sides regularly overreacted to contact in the hope of seeing an opponent punished.

After England was awarded a second-half penalty – eventually converted by Harry Kane – several Colombian players tried to scuff up the penalty spot while Geiger was not looking.

Jordan Henderson was on the receiving end of a head-butt from a Colombian player, and later dished out one of his own. Routinely, Geiger would be surrounded by a cluster of baying players from either England or Colombia – and sometimes both – protesting decisions.

Commentators around the world acknowledged the game as one of the dirtiest in the World Cup so far, but Falcao was adamant his team was the wronged party.

“Through small calls he was pushing us (toward) our goal, that was clear for me,” he added. “The referee disturbed us a lot. In the 50-50 plays, he always made the calls in favor of England. This situation was undermining us. He didn’t act with the same criteria for both teams.”

It is not the first time Geiger has been involved in controversy during the tournament. After officiating a group-stage game, he was accused by Morocco’s Nordin Amrabat of asking for the jersey of a Portugal player, a claim that was angrily refuted by both Geiger and FIFA.