by D. Victor

Created on: June 25, 2010   Last Updated: February 19, 2011

Even at the highest level of international association football, match officials make some errors that become hot topics beyond the local pub. Some controversial decisions at the 2010 FIFA World Cup were grave enough to change the course of a match or tournament. In the 2010 World Cup, the group stage alone has thrown up disallowed goals, gratuitous cards and debatable offside calls.

• Unacknowledged goal - England versus Germany

In the third Round of 16 fixture, Germany led England 2-1. One minute after England notched their first goal, Frank Lampard blasted a shot that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced behind the goal line clearly. Unlike 1966, when the Azerbaijani assistant referee ruled that a goal had been scored, the Uruguayan officials did not spot what was obvious to those looking at it on the replay. The second assistant referee was near the top of the area when the ball bounced behind the line. The referee was not in a position to see that either. In the end, England was denied an equalizer and had an excuse for their 4-1 failure against the old enemy.

• Disallowed goal - USA v Slovenia

Koman Coulibaly deserves a spot by himself. One can overlook his apparently inconsistent officiating and raise eyebrows at his lack of authority on the field. However, to disallow a goal for an infraction that is unclear is not forgivable. One can excuse a call that has to be made in a split second, but Mr. Coulibaly from Mali had a good view and time to think about his decision. That made his decision even worse. That decision was so awful that the Malian only got fourth official duties for two other matches before being sent home at the conclusion of the group stage.

• Gratuitous red cards and cautions

A disallowed goal is a travesty, but an unnecessary red or yellow card can affect a game or a player's tournament. The 2010 tournament had a few rash decisions by the men in the middle. Mexico's Marco Rodriguez posed authoritatively as he showed the red card to Tim Cahill for a reckless challenge. Reckless challenges are caution-worthy, but Rodriguez seized the opportunity to have the camera focus on him with his slick hair.

Alberto Mallenco from Spain continued the card trend by issuing a number of yellow cards, including two to Miroslav Klose. Klose's first yellow card was understandable, since it might have been for persistent infringement of the Laws of the Game. The second was less plausible and the German striker was

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