Argentina elbows U.S. in men's soccer, 2-0

Date: Saturday, September 12th 2009 (Taiwan); Friday, September 10th 2009 (United States)
Time: 0930 (GMT+8) 9:30pm (EST) 6:30pm (PST)
Venue: YingFeng Riverside Sports Park

DJ Rowse was sent to the hospital after
receiveing an elbow to the head against Argentina.
Photo Courtesy of Sina McCarthy

Story by: Martin Dale-Hench on September 12, 2009
2009 US Deaflympics

And then there were none. Then eight.

The bizarre second half of the U.S. Men’s Soccer Team’s 2-0 loss to Argentina saw the referee hand out nine cards, six of them to the U.S. men’s team, enough to eject three players, and the Americans refusing to play before retaking their positions.

“This was the most appalling game I have ever been involved in 50 years in football,” head coach Ken McDonald said.

McDonald was vocal in his disagreement with the referee’s decisions, pulling his entire team off the field in a refusal to continue the game after the referee gave striker Kenneth Noll his second yellow card with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Argentina was up, 1-0, at that point, and its players celebrated their prospective victory by jumping up and down in front of their crowd.

However, the Americans returned seven minutes later because they found if they abandoned a game in that fashion, they would be disqualified from the next Deaflympics.

As soon as the Americans surprised the Argentineans by returning, defender Justin Hefflefinger was sent off with a red card for “punching in the gut.”

The targeted Argentinean was the one who had injured a few U.S. players with deliberate elbows to their heads during jumps for the ball.

In the 38th minute of a otherwise ho-hum first half, Argentinean captain Claudio Alvarez elbowed defender D.J. Rowse in the face, knocking him out cold mid-air, upending him and causing him to fall onto the ground face first. Alvarez did not receive a foul on the play.

“The Argentineans actually went out to hurt my players by constantly elbowing my players in the face and the back of the neck,” McDonald said. “I actually feared for my players’ lives. One of my players is now in a hospital because he was smashed in the face with the elbow of one of their players.”

This was only one of several plays that angered the Americans.

“Number 10 got away, like, six times,” captain Michael Lawson said. Lawson received two questionable yellow cards seven minutes apart in the second half and was ejected in the 62nd minute.

The Americans appeared to try to retaliate for Argentina’s sneaky play in the second half, running full speed toward their foes, sometimes causing collisions. The U.S.’s frustration showed when the referee missed elbowing calls against Argentina, especially a few on Noll.

“It was without doubt the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen,” McDonald said.

Argentina committed seven fouls in the first half, none of them carded, compared to the U.S.’s four.

Some players said the referee allowed the game to get out of hand by not taking appropriate disciplinary measures. In the second half, both teams received four apiece, plus nine cards.

Argentina got its first goal from a set piece off Lawson’s first yellow card in the 55th minute, with the ball bouncing over the defensive line and kicked midair by an Argentinean striker for a lob over the oncoming goalie.

The second goal came in the stoppage time, when the Americans were down three players.

The Americans play the loser of the Ireland-Iran match for 7th place Monday.

For final game stats, please click here.