COMMERCE CITY, Colo. --Physical play reigned supreme in Sunday's 1-1 draw between the LA Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids, but both teams were left stunned by the decisions of referee Allen Chapman.
Despite the chippy nature of the match, Chapman called just 14 fouls on the night -- seven for each team. Although Chapman allowed much of the physical play to persist, he negated a Galaxy goal in the 29th minute when he whistled Landon Donovan for a foul on Hunter Freeman after the Galaxy captain scored the go-ahead goal.
Chapman's decision to call a foul left Donovan incensed, ultimately leading to a yellow card for dissent as television replays appeared to show the two players tussling for position before the foul was awarded. Colorado had a penalty shout of their own when goal scorer Jaime Castrillon pleaded for a call in the 67th minute when he took an awkward tumble in the box that caused Chapman to wave play on.
Following the match, LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane sounded off the decisions that he believed impacted both teams...
KEANE: "It was obviously a tough game; it’s disappointing to concede, probably, 10 minutes after we scored. I think the altitude probably played a big factor. The game was a bit dead, to be honest. Probably didn’t help with the referee making some ridiculous decisions to be honest with you. I don’t mind referees that made bad decisions, but when you try to speak to them and they’re so arrogant. That really annoys you...For both teams, there were some [referee] decisions that were terrible to be honest with you. It’ll be fine, he’ll be reffing next week so we’ll be moving on."
