Is THIS why Copa America referee REFUSED to shake Christian Pulisic’s hand? Shock clip emerges of USA captain before approaching officials
This is the remarkable moment Copa America referee Kevin Ortega refused to shake Christian Pulisic’s hand after a heated exchange with the US captain.
The United States were humiliatingly knocked out of the tournament on Monday night, losing 1-0 and already eliminated in the group stage.
The loss in Kansas City was dominated by a series of baffling refereeing decisions, ultimately leading to Pulisic standing up to the referee and screaming in his face.
At the end of the match at Arrowhead Stadium, Pulisic approached the Peruvian referee and his assistants and attempted to shake their hands. But Ortega chose to keep his hands behind his back and ignore the AC Milan star’s advances.
In a full clip of the incident, which FOX Sports initially did not share, Pulisic can be seen challenging the officials before reaching them and appearing to point at the cheering Uruguayan players as if to ask, “Why aren’t you with them?”
Christian Pulisic was ignored when he tried to shake hands with referee Kevin Ortega at the end of the match
Pulisic looked furious as he spoke to all three officials at the end of the match in Kansas City
He appeared to gesture to the referee to go celebrate with the winning Uruguayan players
The captain of the US national team nevertheless shakes hands with one of the linesmen.
He then walks along the sideline to shake hands with the head referee, but he is ignored.
The camera then starts to pan away, but it appears that the second linesman does shake hands with Pulisic, meaning that the referee was the only official to give the United States captain a slap on the wrist.
During the match, US fans and players were outraged by a series of amateurish mistakes by the referee.
During the match, the AC Milan midfielder had shouted in Ortega’s face after a decision
In the first half, Ortega gave Chris Richards a yellow card and then inexplicably let play continue
The key goal came midway through the first half when USA and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards fouled an opponent and was shown a yellow card.
Incredibly, the referee showed Richards a yellow card but then decided to give Uruguay the advantage, despite some US players thinking the match had been stopped.
Uruguay’s winning goal also came about thanks to a suspicious offside decision. Several replays appeared to show forward Mathias Olivera spending only a fraction of his points offside before scoring the only goal of the game.