Maligned USMNT-Uruguay ref responsible for controversial call has shady past

It's hard enough watching the U.S. Men's National Team play under Gregg Berhalter. Somehow, the biggest villain of USA's Copa America match with Uruguay on Monday wasn't the much-maligned American manager. It was referee Kevin Ortega.

It would take too long to list Ortegas many, many miscues. So, it'll have to suffice to only mention the yellow card given to Tyler Adams for a defender stepping on his ankle, allowing a quick restart while trying to give out a different yellow card, or the five minutes of added time allotted despite lengthy stoppages for countless fouls and multiple injuries including a Uruguayan needing to be carried off in a stretcher.

Oh, and the offside that wasn't called on Uruguay's second half goal....

Copa America ref for USMNT-Uruguay has shady past

If you're wondering if that performance from the ref was an outlier. It might not be. This ref has been involved in controversy in his very short officiating career.

This is only the seventh senior game in charge for Ortega and his first Copa America match. How a relative rookie was assigned to a match of such clear importance involving big-name teams is a real question.

Back in 2022, Ortega was refereeing a Copa Libertadores match between a Bolivian club and Boca Juniors from Argentina. He gave a controversial penalty as Juniors won the game. Afterwards, Bolivian police found Boca Junior shirts given to the referees in their booth. The Argentines claimed it was standard practice to give a gift to the refs but it's hard to imagine something more inappropriate for a team to do or a referee to accept.

USMNT fans had their own thoughts about the officiating.

USMNT is fighting for their Copa America lives against Uruguay. Having a competent ref would certainly help instill more confidence in the outcome. Unfortunately, Copa America didn't bring their A team when it comes to refs. That's a shame for everyone involved.