Could United States forward Abby Wambach be reprimanded by FIFA for comments she made about a World Cup referee?
It’ll be interesting to see what action, if any, world soccer’s governing body will take against Wambach after she suggested French referee Stephanie Frappart “purposefully” gave two of her teammates yellow cards during the Americans’ 2-0 win over Colombia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Edmonton on Monday evening.
U.S. midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday both received their second yellow cards of the tournament during the match against Colombia, and will now miss Friday’s quarterfinal against China in Ottawa through suspension.
Wambach was asked about the yellow cards during a post-match media scrum that involved Sportsnet contributor Steve Sandor, and the American forward let her feelings be known.
“I don’t know if they were yellows. It seemed like she (Stephanie Frappart) was purposefully giving those yellows to, maybe players she knew were sitting on yellows. I don’t know if that’s a psychological thing. Who knows?” Wambach said.
FIFA has a history of coming down hard on players who have questioned the impartiality of referees.
Canada’s Christine Sinclair landed in hot water for her comments after the Reds’ 4-3 loss to the U.S. in the semifinals of the 2012 London Olympics.
“We feel like we didn’t lose, we feel like it was taken from us,” Sinclair said moments after the final whistle. “It’s a shame in a game like that that was so important, the ref decided the result before it started.”
Sinclair was hit with a four-game ban, but she was allowed to play in the bronze medal match against France.