Its a bit late topic this, but I felt that the Australian media (at least on the web) are a bit one sided, so I thought I will write this.
BERLIN, June 14 (Reuters) – Japan should have been awarded a penalty in the second half of Monday’s 3-1 World Cup loss to Australia, a top FIFA official said on Wednesday.
Asked why there had been no penalties in the tournament’s first 14 matches, FIFA communications director Markus Siegler told a news conference that the Japan-Australia match was the only one in which a penalty should have been given.
“I think there were no situations for penalties. We saw one, but it was a clear mistake of the referee. I would not be credible if I didn’t say a mistake was made there,” he said.
Siegler was referring to a second-half incident where Australia’s substitute Tim Cahill clipped the legs of Japan midfielder Yuichi Komano as he headed for goal.
So FIFA admits that, that incident should be P.K. This was very a costly decision. Because whether we converted the penalty kick or not, Tim Cahill should been sent off for his second yellow card of the game.