During Monday night’s matchup between the United States Men’s National Team and Uruguay, referee Kevin Ortega earned a lot of criticism for his officiating, but a moment between him and USMNT captain Christian Pulisic after the match was even more shocking than the controversial officiating throughout the match.
Throughout the game, Ortega made several perplexing if not completely incorrect decisions, awarding a yellowcard to Tyler Adams when he was stepped on by an opponent, failing to play advantage in a crucial moment, and failing to stop the match while awarding a yellow card nearly resulting in a Uruguay goal.
“This guy is completely out of his depth in this game,” Lalas said at the halftime break of Ortega’s performance. “Now, this is not a reason for the US not being up. This is not a reason for the US not doing whatever it is. But this is a bad performance from the referee that’s going to be part of the narrative.”
Ortega faced criticism for his actions during the match, and he’ll undoubtedly face criticism for his actions after the match, as well.
After the match, Fox Sports cameras caught USMNT captain Christian Pulisic walking up to the referee to shake his hand. But Ortega was not interested in doing that.
An official refused to shake Pulisic's hand after the match pic.twitter.com/lurToJchMC
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
As Pulisic reached his hand out to the referee for a handshake, Ortega simply put them behind his back and stared at Pulisic, refusing to shake the USMNT captain’s hand.
When he realized he would not be getting a handshake from the referee, Pulisic pulled his hand back and pointed to the referee as he said something, though it’s not clear exactly what he said.
Pulisic seemed to have some complaints with the official throughout Monday’s match, at one point seemingly begging the referee to talk to him about a controversial call he made as the referee turned his back and walked away.
Compilation of some of the most controversial refereeing moments from USA's match vs Uruguay ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XHwv9B5YfL
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 2, 2024
Needless to say, it’s pretty classless of the referee to completely ignore a team captain seeking clarification on a call during the game and refuse to shake the hand after the match.
