FIFA punishes Koman Coulibaly for USA vs. Slovenia World Cup call

Koman not in World Cup

After much anticipation over the weekend, FIFA officials failed to announce a real review but they did punish USA vs. Slovenia World Cup match referee Koman Coulibaly for his non-call, call that prevented the United States from winning Friday's epic battle.

FIFA has dropped Koman Coulibaly from the World Cup by not assigning him to the next round of World Cup matches (33 - 40), according to Sports By Brooks.

If you happened to miss the kick and the call - let alone the outpouring of comments, some defending Koman Coulibaly, most not - here's my video:



FIFA defends referees

According to ESPN.com, Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda, head of refereeing for FIFA, said "We are very, very satisfied with the performance of the referees."

You've got to be kidding. If Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda's and FIFA are happy with the "performance" of referees like Koman Coulibaly, it's obviously a cover for the real story. If FIFA were really "happy" with the refs, Koman would have been assigned to another match.

Not so.

You've got to give FIFA credit for political head-fake that's a thing of beauty. The sports' governing body essentially affirmed Coulibaly's mistake by action, while allowing its words to indicate that Koman would not be punished.

Maybe FIFA officials learned this form of passive aggression after an extended stay in the SF Bay Area?