Coach Martino angered by FIFA officials

Martino was angered by a pair of decisons that went against his team and potentially cost them victory on Saturday night. In the first half Paraguay striker Nelson Valdez put the ball in the net after latching onto a long ball but the linesman’s flag went up and it was chalked out for offside although television replays showed the decision was wrong.

Then in the second half, just after Paraguay forward Oscar Cardozo had seen his penalty saved by Spain captain Iker Casillas following Gerard Pique’s hauling down of Cardozo in the box, the Europeans were also awarded a spot-kick.

There appeared to be minimal contact between Antolin Alcaraz and Spain striker David Villa before the new Barcelona signing went down. Both Pique and Alcaraz were booked for their challenges although Xabi Alonso missed the twice-taken penalty.

“I should say that some decisions could have changed the course of the match,” said Martino. “There was the first half goal scored by Valdez and also the penalty. Perhaps there was a foul but then perhaps he should have been sent off. Maybe FIFA will apologise tomorrow for that, say thank you to FIFA for apologising to us.”