The World Cup Responds to the U.S. Controversy – Via Twitter

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Has it really come to this? The world tunes in for an epic soccer match, the game is blown in the closing minutes by a highly controversial call, and the only official response is a tweet? (via World Cup Blog)

TIME’s Sean Gregory has been following the fallout of America’s 2-2 tie against Slovenia Friday – the supposed 3-2 victory wiped out by a last-second penalty call – and what has surprised him most in the days since the scandal broke is the lack of transparency by FIFA. Why all the hiding? (Join the debate: How the U.S. was robbed in the World Cup, and check out the best photos from the games)

“The only thing more frustrating than the controversial late-game foul call by Malian referee Koman Coulibaly, which cost the U.S. a miracle comeback victory against Slovenia, might be FIFA’s failure to explain went wrong,” Gregory writes. “Coulibaly refused to comment on the call after the game – in fact, FIFA requires its refs to hide behind its protective wall. What did Coulibaly see? Was it just an honest mistake? Hey, if he just came out an apologized, the world would surely show him some sympathy. No one is perfect. But we may never know what happened. Today, FIFA Sepp Blatter president turned to Twitter for a ‘response.’”

Read Blatter’s tweet, and Sean’s full analysis, at the World Cup Blog.