I hadn't seen that one during the game, but there was a later set piece, where Melvin, er...Melissa Tancredi gave a full elbow swing that hit Abby Wambaugh (I think) flush in the jaw. Nothing was called then, either. That was in the box, and would have been a direct kick anyway, if it had been called correctly. They've got nothing to complain about.

I guess they figure if other countries can get away with it, they may as well join the crowd. After all, didn't the swimmer say that if you don't cheat, you can't win. And... the people in control (referees, umpires etc) choose to overlook the foibles of favored teams, so it seems.

What go's around comes around. I'm sure the kanuk head hunter will be given some of her own head stomps before she leaves the game for a hockey career.

get off the sport blogs. you want to sell your sex sites do it on the porn sites. go spread your legs someplace else.

just a bunch a whining canadians that cant cut it...they go boo hoo and then act like this?...hee hee, sooooo canadian.

Seems to me they just gave back what they got. Everyone laughed at them for complaining, and said take it like a man (or woman). Guess they did, and decided to serve up their own in return.

If everyone wants to play Rugby instead, they should just say so.

Can you show me where a US player stomped on an opposing players head? STFU moron!

"Everyone laughed?" Everyone is still laughing at Canada. How can a soccer team have a 3-0 lead and lose? Canadians need to face the fact that if it's not hockey, they just plain suck.

Canada never had a 3-0 lead.

What drugs are you on? 3-0 lead maybe in your Meth induced state.

She went out of her way to play dirty instead of playing soccer. I hope she gets benched and Canada loses! She is a stupid c%$#@

BS...she was not even looking at her! Soccer players are such whiners! Which is why I never watch it!

Never watch it? You just posted on it, clearly demonstrating you do. Nice try, poor logic.

Not intentional. Absurd. And I am an American, have played at the highest level, NASL of the late 70's, so I know the difference. Much ado about nothing. Both teams were very physical, and yes Tancredi should have seen yellow for persistent fouls.

However, in the end the ref gave it to the Americans with an absurd call on the goalie for stalling, leading to a ball to arm PK for the US. Rapinoe had a far more obvious hand ball, no pk called.

Sorry, but it had to be intentional. Watch the slo-mo replay. Tancredi needed a half stutter-step in order to come down on Carli Lloyd's head - her right foot had already cleared Lloyd. NOBODY does that accidentally.

I'd call BS on your playing claims, but since it's been 35 years since you played I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. However, from the laws of the game Law 12 says:

"An indirect free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a goalkeeper, inside his own penalty area, commits any of the following four offences:

controls the ball with his hands for more than six seconds before releasing it from his possession..." That's a change from when you played and if you actually watched the match you'd have seen at least 5 different instances where she held the ball for more than 10 seconds before she was called for it. the goalie also admits she was warned by the assistant referee before it happened.

As for the stomping, while that was de rigueur for the NASL, it's no longer acceptable. Law 12 again:

"A direct free kick is awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following seven offences in a manner considered by the referee to be careless, reckless or using excessive force:

kicks or attempts to kick an opponent
trips or attempts to trip an opponent
jumps at an opponent
charges an opponent
strikes or attempts to strike an opponent
...
and:

... A player, substitute or substituted player is sent off if he commits any of the following seven offences:

serious foul play ..."

From the FIFA interpretation of Law 12"

"Serious foul play
A player is guilty of serious foul play if he uses excessive force or brutality
against an opponent when challenging for the ball when it is in play.
A tackle that endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as
serious foul play.
Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the
front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force
and endangering the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.
Advantage should not be applied in situations involving serious foul play unless
there is a clear subsequent opportunity to score a goal. The referee must send
off the player guilty of serious foul play when the ball is next out of play.
A player who is guilty of serious foul play should be sent off and play is
restarted with a direct free kick from the position where the offence occurred
(see Law 13 – Position of free kick) or a penalty kick (if the offence occurred
inside the offender’s penalty area)."

So the ref(s) blew it on the stomping, but got it right on the 6 second violation.

DEFINITELY, INTENTIONAL. TAncredi's foot left foot was right up against Lloyds body so she had to lift it up. Where the heck did she think the rest of her body was? She knew.

As I was watching, I kept thinking the goalie was taking too long and it's possible she was warned by a ref and we didn't see it. I've seen this called before.

The refs made bad calls on both sides and I think there were plenty of times when the refs could've just red-carded Tancredi. For example, after Tancredi didn't like a call and was obviously trying to intimidate the ref then she did a chest bump against one of the U.S. players. Canada would've been down a man adn that would've been a shame. I think the refs really cut her some slack. If you've got skills(obviously, she does), there's no reason for all that extra non-sense. It detracts from the excellent play and image of the rest of the team.

Canada complained before the match & complained after the match. Heard nothing out of the US camp. Hmmm

No, just about Rapinoe 'coming out,' Wambach clearly will come out, Hope with her tweets, new book about being conceived from a conjugal visit. PAY ATTENTION.

UMMM, I think blunny was talking about the U.S. complaining, not gossip.

What a sick POS

Saw the video, it was intentional, Planted right foot, kicked back with left

Typical canadian liberasl.... say one thing an do another, lie and cheat and when youy don't get your way blame somebody else. Let's face it, the canadians have always felt like they live in the USA's shadow so I do kinda feel sorry for them.... NOT !!!!!!!!! Bunch of babies.... except their hockey players :)

hell even the best hockey players aren't from canada...can't answer for certain but i'd be willing to be most of the canadian team goes to college in the states. there's a reason 90% of their population lives within 10 miles of the US border....wanna bees

John Herdman accuses the U.S. women's soccer team of "highly illegal" tactics. Let's see- one case of head stomping a fallen opponent, jerking another opponent by the arm to keep her from the ball. Just two issues of non-calls of the many witness during the game by the referee but these missed calls were ok, and poof--the referee makes a supposed bad call against the non-cheating(?) team and the whining starts of being robbed of a victory.

It is a sport, good, bad, and stupid calls get made. Get over it, move on.

Evident coach was talking about the far north american team.

There was no headstomping. The American player was stepped on accidentally as she lay underneath a moving field of players. You can see the Canadian player's foot catch and she trys to replant. Not stomp. It is obvious she is not even looking at what she is stepping on. She is engrossed in the action of the ballplay. What are you people on?

It was intentional. That's the way Tancredi plays the game..that's why Herdman tried to distract the refs with his accusations of the US's play before he sent his players out to kick and hack their way through the semifinal match.

For those of you who recorded the game, watch about two and a half minutes into the OT. Rapinoe knocks Tancredi to the ground and Tancredi retaliates by viciously swinging her leg at Rapinoe to try to kick her. Its her game. She is good at it. It's nothing new or unexpected for anyone who follows the woman's game. Tancredi is the Chris Pronger of womans soccer.

Wyodrifter is right. Replay show her looking a different way when she stepped, not stomped, on her head. Typical sports writer trying to start something out of nothing. Justs let them play the game.

The snotty comments are uncalled for, including the article itself! I've watched the clips several times, using the pause to see it in detail. Clearly the falling player put her off balance and she couldn't stop her forward momentum. But notice that as soon as she feels contact on her left leg she lifts that leg and shifts her weight, which is why she hops on her right leg as she touches down. Certainly, our girl (Canadian) did not give your girl (U.S.) a kick to the head. If it were penalized I couldn't complain, really, but it's clear to me that the contact was unintentional.

I know a good place to shove that Maple leaf! Wait.....That's not MAPLE!!!!!!!!

ha!!!

Watch her head foks. She is following the play and looking at the ball. She is not aware that the U.S. player is at her feet.

ff1212, thanks for being real about this. Your comments - "in the end the ref gave it to the Americans with an absurd call on the goalie for stalling, leading to a ball to arm PK for the US. Rapinoe had a far more obvious hand ball, no pk called" - are right on the mark.

Seems clear that the IOC and Soccer Federation wanted to ensure that NBC got the boost in ratings from having the Americans in the gold medal match.

Yeah, because the IOC is so clearly pro American. Imagine if they pulled hockey from the winter Olympics for the sole reason that Canada was so good at it? Or pulled table tennis because China is s good at it. Imagine the uproar.

But they had no problem pulling softball and baseball simply because Americans were good at it.

What a ludicrous assertion.

Wow! Stay classy, Canada. I thought goons were only on your hockey teams. And WE'RE the cheaters?? Really?

Come on, folks, it did NOT even look deliberate!!! Accidents happen esp. in rougher & more active sports.

Wow. Bunch of nasty folks. For sure that call was missed. It simply shows how badly the game was managed by the refs. Glad the Olympic organizers show more quality thinking then most respondents here. These two teams played a fantastic hard game and the refs were not up to that standard when it came to doing their job. That's a shame and hopefully it gets fixed for the final. The US team played well enough to win. So did the Canadians, it was that close a game. Canadians are proud of who they are just like Americans. For the most part we have no wish to be Americans. We have our own values that are different than values in the States. Lighten up folks. We fought side by side in many conflicts and share a huge cross border economy. This was just a simple game and so many of you seem to not be able to deal with a news report without being truly stupid. Some of you need to really go look for a brain.

We are only pointing out Canada's dirty play because of the poor sportsmanship shown by Canadians. Tancredi and Sinclair are a disgrace. Canadian fans booing Canadian born US forward Sydney Leroux was disgusting. ( There are several American born players on the Canadian team and all but one of them attend UNiversities in the US. Their values aren't so much differerent when it comes to accepting scholarships from us) And the assertion that the Norwegian ref was paid off by the USOC with cash is ludicrous and makes Canadians sound like babies and fools.

If you watched the entire match there were multiple fouls on both teams that were questionable and could have been carded and as an American news network do you honestly think they would post Wambachs elbow to the side of the Canadian defenders head in response to the favourable call they got late in the game. Controversy always makes great news. The referee had lost control of a heated match that was well played by both squads and as a fan of soccer I was impressed with the skill level of Ripinoe, Sinclair and Morgan. If you were educated about the game you would know that was not a great call given the circumstances of the game and the fact that an earlier US handball in a similar situation was not called only added fuel to the fire. However, I do appreciate some of the wonderful, well thought out comments by some of my neighbours to the south, you've done your country proud. Well done!

Fox Sports should be ashamed of themselves for their "yellow journalism". Watch Tancredi in the video, she's following the play, she never looks down to see the fallen American player....
The so called "stomp" is completely accidental! Shame, Shame on you Fox Sports!

Never like these overly audacious US women and would never patronize anything they did. From the media spin, they lack virtues & values. Go CANADA!!! (And I'm clearly an American)

Right American eh

Great game, yes there was allot of controversy, be happy that the US won, if you looked at the coach for the US team, she was quite worried. Both teams played their hardest, but you must admit if you watched the game that the refs screwed up. Good luck to the US team in the finals. Hope the refs do a better job of calling the penealties on both sides!!!!!!!!!!!

I have now watched that video several times and 2 points. 1. Her head was stepped on , not stomped on. 2. The stepping was clearly unintentional. The American girl is laying on the ground as the players still on their feet are in motion. It was obvious that the Canadian player didn't even realise where the American was as the Canadian player's eyes were glued to the direction of play and the ball. The Canadian was half-tripping over the body. What the hell is wrong with you people? Did you watch the video before you opened your mouths?

Oh Yeah, we up north all want to be part of a country that has an unemployment rate higher than ours, more debt, higher crime rates in its major cities, an education system that is broken, universities that care more about football then people, a government that spends more on the military than any other civil service, private health insurance etc........When can I move?

But we have the Stanley Cup.

You don't have to move. We unemployed dumb convicts can use our military to crush you and you'll be American too! We wouldn't have anymore Canadian teams! Win/Win? I think so.....LOL

Yes we fund our military to make sure this happens....

http://enews.fergananews.com/article.php?id=15

The Canadian goalkeeper, McLeod, had been warned about holding the ball previous to the "controversial call", by the assistant ref. She was holding the ball for excessive amounts of time trying to burn time off the clock. That is an accepted tactic as long as the amount of time isn't too excessive which it was the time it was called and several times before. The intentional handling call that ensued is a judgement call by the ref and is based on proximity to the ball and the position of the arm, specifically if the arm is in an unnatural position. Since her arm was partially extended, the ball was deflected off of a teammates elbow, and she had at least 15 yards distance from the ball the call was correct. Rapinoe didn't extend her arm, it was at her side when the ball made contact. If anything the ref was not in control of the game as the Canadians probably should have recieved more yellow cards for unsporting conduct and dissent. My humble opinion, the coach talked crap and got that game rammed directly up his backside, just like he deserved. I don't feel sorry for the Candians, try again in 2016.

The arm does not have to be extended for a handball to occur (intent is always factored in as should time and space) surely you know that and you are right that Canada was the more physically aggressive of the two teams (probably a tactic for the game) and should have been carded more so. However, there were plenty of none calls and blown calls (on both sides) that added to the intensity of the game. As far as the handling of the ball by Mcleod. What is excessive? When does the counting start and stop? That was the first incident in these Olympic games where that call had been made and none in the Euro championships or last World Cup. Not exactly a common call in major championships-male or female. .Nobody is asking for sympathy, in fact as a Canadian and fan of soccer I felt that the better team won in terms of overall play, possession and skill level. If the two teams continue to play soccer like this I would be more than happy to see the teams meet again in future majors and yes, I hope we get the opportunity to compete again in Brazil.

No stomp at all. American falls to ground and Canadian woman almost trips over her. NON-story.

Intentional stomp by the Chris Pronger of women's soccer.

franly the video should be turned over to soccers governong body and let them decide personally the player and team should be sanctioned the player for dangerous and potentional leathal play, The teamnows what type of poor sport they have and should have gotten rid of her ages ago

Fox sports is the official whiner of the 2012 olympics. I have yet to find one story where they throw cold water on something in some event. You created a controversy over a celebritory dance, you criticize a coach for defending his athlete. The coach is the one who is supposed to point those things out so the player stays above it. You have found something negative about every sport there is that you report on. I don't know if it's just to counter NBC's coverage, but if this is how you cover it, I'm sure glad you don't have the contract. it would be one big downer. I cant stand it anymore. I turn to MSN to get my news but if Sports is covered by you guys, I'm out.

This article (and comments) makes it hard not to hate on American patriotism; but I understand that I might point out some stupid things too if the Canadians had won.

This article and its comments make it hard not to dismiss pompous Americans, but I know that I would make stupid points too if I was defending a Canadian win.

Tancredi and Sinclair should be suspended for the bronze medal match with France. Tancredi for dirty play and Sinclair for some of the worst sportsmanship in the history of the Olympic Games.

US should waste less time with this and more time with crazy ppl you have killing ppl

It was an exciting game....really too bad there was controversy. but I guess over 120 plus minutes there are gonna be missed calls. I thought Tancredi played a great game...yes she was aggressive, but I don't think she was dirty. She played hard and charged the ball against what was percieved to be the much more talented team. I say good on her.

In my humble opinion the US is a more talented team, but Canada played terrffic and the game was a treat. In the end Canada probably did get the short end of the stick, but hey that's sports, it happens, you just gotta move on. Get that Bronze Ladies!

I'm sure NBC loved the result, but if the game was "fixed" the ref did a damn poor job of assuring a US victory in a game which was 30 seconds from being decided by PKs. If this is all we can come up with, maybe we should give the refs a break....seems to me a PK could be called on almost any tackle in the box if one were so inclined to try and influence the game.

Hey all, What's will all the name calling?