'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Colombia and England faced off last night in the round of 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and it was Gareth Southgate's English side that emerged victorious after an intensely fought match finally culminated after a penalty shoot-out.
Yerry Mina gave Colombia their equalizer in the 93rd minute to cancel out Harry Kane's 57th-minute penalty. Extra time failed to decide the game and subsequently, penalties had to be taken to decide the winner.
England just about edged out the Colombians as they won the penalty shoot-out 4-3 in sudden death.
However, the game has become a rather controversial outing as a result of some rather questionable refereeing from the man in charge, Mark Geiger.
The American official not only pulled out cards a little too easily but also made some seemingly erroneous calls. After the game, Colombian star, Radamel Falcao, went on to slam the referee, accusing him of being biased and questioning his neutrality.
According to the Colombian forward, the referee "always made calls to favour England."
Lashing out, Falcao said:
"I found it peculiar that they put an American referee in this instance. To tell you the truth, the process leaves a lot of doubts. He only spoke English, some bias was certain. Through small calls he was pushing us [toward] our goal, that was clear for me."
"The referee disturbed us a lot, in the 50-50 plays, he always made the calls in favour of England," Falcao said. "This situation was undermining us. He didn't act with the same criteria for both teams. When in doubt he always went to the England side. It's shameful that this happens in the round of 16 of a World Cup."
Notably, this isn't the first time Geiger has been accused of something like this. In his first game as an official in the World Cup just last month, the American was tasked with overseeing the Group B match between Portugal and Morocco.
After the game, Morocco's Nordin Amrabat raised similar accusations as he said:
"I don't know what [Geiger] is used to, but he was very impressed by Cristiano [Ronaldo]," Amrabat said. "I've been just told by Pepe that in the [first half], he asked if he could have his shirt. Come on, man. What are we talking about? ... We are at the World Cup, not a circus here."
It is still uncertain as to whether FIFA will look into the matter and take any action. However, if this is true, it certainly will bring disgrace to what has otherwise been an exceptional World Cup.
