Both teams are subject to the decision making of the same referee and his/her mistakes are part of the game. Referees become known for the quality of their decision making. In fact I would go the other way. I think FIFA have become to prescriptive in their rules for referees and the referees ability to make decision based on the game as a whole have been reduced.

Think about it.You'll remember the USA game for a lot longer partly because of the referees decision. "We where robbed" will become part of US sports culture.

You've missed my point - yes, referee mistakes can happen. The point is that some sports have implemented a replay process that works to correct bad calls.

Sorry, but the argument from refs that "our hands are tied, we must make these calls" is specious.

I'll remember the game for 3 reasons - the lack of concentration by the U.S. in the first half, their improbable comeback in the 2nd half, and a horribly bad call that holds zero water and likely prevented a USA win.

The technology is there - it's a matter of whether a sports organization wants to remain mule-headed.