This is the memorable moment Copa America referee Kevin Ortega refused to shake Christian Pulisic’s hand after a furious row with the US captain.
The United States were knocked out of the tournament in embarrassing fashion on Monday night, with a 1-0 defeat confirming their exit at the group stage.
The loss in Kansas City was dominated by a series of baffling refereeing decisions throughout the game, culminating in Pulisic confronting the referee and yelling in his face.
At the end of the match at Arrowhead Stadium, Pulisic approached the Peruvian referee and his assistants, attempting to shake their hands, but Ortega chose to keep his hands behind his back and ignore the AC Milan star’s advances.
In a full clip of the incident, which was not initially shared by FOX Sports, Pulisic can be seen taunting the officials before reaching out to them, and appears to gesture toward the celebrating Uruguayan players as if to ask, “Why aren’t you there with them?”
Christian Pulisic was snubbed when he tried to shake referee Kevin Ortega’s hand at the end of the match
Pulisic appeared furious as he spoke to the three referees at the end of the game in Kansas City.
He seemed to gesture to the referee to go and celebrate with the victorious Uruguayan players.
However, the USMNT captain shakes hands with one of the linesmen.
He then moves along the line to shake hands with the match’s head referee, but is ignored.
The camera then begins to zoom out, but it appears the second linesman is shaking Pulisic’s hand, meaning the referee was the only official to give the U.S. captain a thumbs down.
During the match, both American fans and players were left furious by a series of amateur errors by the referee.
During the match, the AC Milan midfielder shouted in Ortega’s face after a decision
In the first half, Ortega booked Chris Richards and then inexplicably allowed play to continue.
The main one came midway through the first half, when USA and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards fouled an opponent and received a yellow card.
Incredibly, the referee gave Richards a yellow card but then opted to give Uruguay the lead, even though some American players believed the match had been stopped.
Uruguay’s winning goal also came from a suspect offside decision, with multiple replays appearing to show striker Mathias Olivera slightly offside before he scored the game’s only goal.
