{"id":136289,"date":"2026-06-20T08:45:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:45:28","slug":"australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289","title":{"rendered":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A star player on Australia’s World Cup team<\/a> spoke out against referee Felix Zwayer after a 2-0 loss to the U.S. on Friday, as the head coach and an assistant coach have now complained about the referee as well.<\/p>\n

Forward Nestory Irankunda said the referee had a “stinker.”<\/p>\n

“If you look at how the referee was today, [there\u2019s] not much I can say about that,” Irankunda told reporters after the game.<\/a><\/p>\n

WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The ref was having a stinker today, but I mean it is what it is,” he said. “He was giving every call to the USA. I get it, but at the same time, we know there\u2019s two teams on the field, so you have to give the calls both ways and he didn\u2019t do that today.”<\/p>\n

Irankunda’s complaint came shortly after Australia manager Tony Popovic criticized Zwayer<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

“I thought the referee gave too many fouls away, in all honesty,” Popovic told reporters after the match. “Sometimes you didn\u2019t have to do much to win a foul, and on the other occasions you you had to do a fair bit to get one.<\/p>\n

“Today was I wouldn\u2019t say the best day for the referee. Certainly we felt we were Australia today with the referees.”<\/p>\n

One of the more controversial moments in the match came when the Americans appeared to score<\/u><\/a> their second goal. The play was initially called back for offside, but after a VAR review, officials determined the goal was valid and let it stand.<\/p>\n

The U.S. found the back of the net at the end of the 43rd minute after a free kick<\/u><\/a> was stopped, and then Alex Freeman, the son of former NFL player Antonio Freeman, headed a ball in. The score was immediately protested by the Australians, who felt their goalkeeper had been impeded or there was an offside. After a VAR review, the call stood, and the goal was awarded.<\/p>\n

Popovic questioned the decision to let the score count, after the game.<\/p>\n

FOX ONE\u2019S NEW WORLD CUP VIEWING EXPERIENCE<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not sure on that one. We felt that, but unfortunately that didn\u2019t go our way,” Popovic said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Australia assistant coach Paul Okon argued that their goalkeeper Patrick Beach was impeded during the play.<\/p>\n

“From what we understood, he probably impeded Beachy,” Okon said at halftime, per FOX Sports<\/a>. “But, of course, the VAR decided differently.”<\/p>\n

Popovic was seen getting into a heated exchange with the match officials after the game ended.<\/p>\n

The U.S. scored its first goal on an own goal by Australia’s Cameron Burgess in the 11th minute. It marked the second game in a row where the U.S. scored first on an early own goal.<\/p>\n

But despite the complaints about the referee, Popovic did give credit to the Americans and admitted his players looked “sluggish” on Friday.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know if it’s the occasion, but we looked sluggish, heavy-legged … They won every duel, they won every second ball and when you do that, it makes it very difficult to gain any momentum. And then we conceded two soft goals,” he said.<\/p>\n

“When you think, you know, this noise here \u2014 host nation<\/u><\/a> \u2014 I think the players show how good they are in the second half, but obviously at this level, you can’t give away that much in the first.”<\/p>\n

Zwayer also pulled up with a cramp towards the end of the USA\u2019s win. The German official, 45, required help from both the USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun and Australia’s Aiden O’Neill, who stretched out his left leg after Zwayer fell to the turf.<\/p>\n

With its 2-0 record<\/u><\/a>, the United States is in first place with six points, while Australia remains with three and in second place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-referee-big-loss-us-coaches-complain <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A star player on Australia’s World Cup team spoke out against referee Felix Zwayer after a 2-0 loss to the U.S. on Friday, as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-136289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A star player on Australia’s World Cup team spoke out against referee Felix Zwayer after a 2-0 loss to the U.S. on Friday, as the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"715\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"423\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\"},\"headline\":\"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\"},\"wordCount\":658,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Market News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\",\"name\":\"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"description\":\"Latest News From WallStreet\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Wall Street PR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png\",\"width\":537,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"Wall Street PR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR","og_description":"A star player on Australia’s World Cup team spoke out against referee Felix Zwayer after a 2-0 loss to the U.S. on Friday, as the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289","og_site_name":"Wall Street PR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":715,"height":423,"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/businessman-showing-business-evolution1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36"},"headline":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain","datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289"},"wordCount":658,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Market News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289","name":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain - Wall Street PR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-20T12:45:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/australia-world-cup-star-speaks-out-against-referee-after-big-loss-to-us-as-coaches-complain-136289#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Australia World Cup star speaks out against referee after big loss to US as coaches complain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","name":"Wall Street PR","description":"Latest News From WallStreet","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#organization","name":"Wall Street PR","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/brand-logo.png","width":537,"height":70,"caption":"Wall Street PR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WallStreetPR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/WallstreetPRs"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/#\/schema\/person\/6e00efa2abc413bdc0bca51a90c54d36","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/360_F_336393115_5gCUfwn76x3MJaCJMYDKLoRebkC8QyrL-300x300.jpg","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136289"},{"taxonomy":"stock_ticker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stock_ticker?post=136289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}