Just over halfway through the second half of Sunday's Women's World Cup quarterfinal matchup, Brazil was awarded a penalty kick after Marta was "dragged down" in the box. Clinging to a one-goal lead, Hope Solo needed to come up big, and it appeared she had done just that on the first try. Solo jabbed to her left, dove and punched away the penalty try, keeping Brazil off the board.
But moments later, after noticing the associate referee's flag was up, the penalty kick was called back. The referee had, apparently, determined Solo had left her line early, and she was given a yellow card for the infraction. After such a great save, the outrage over the retake was widespread.
Judge for yourself: Was Solo off her line early? Replays showed her feet never left the line, and it appears no United States players entered the box early, which would result in an encroachment foul -- it also wouldn't explain Solo's immediate yellow (click to animate).
via Bubba Prog
Just a horrendous call that may cost the USA the game. Now, playing down a woman, the USA is on its heels, at a disadvantage against a dangerous Brazilian squad.
Edit: Just out of frame, a US player is about a half-step, perhaps a step, into the box as the kick is being taken. Again, it's a call that never happens and has little affect on the kick itself, but there you have it. It appears the call was, in fact, encroachment, with a yellow for dissent on Solo, though the card came out ridiculously fast.