Whistler has a long history of blowing it

By CHUCK BENNETT and CLEMENTE LISI

Last Updated: 4:07 AM, June 19, 2010

Posted: 2:24 AM, June 19, 2010

Comments: 31

This ref needs a good penalty kick.

Koman Coulibaly, the rookie World Cup referee whose "phantom foul" cost the United States a victory over Slovenia yesterday, has a history of dubious calls.

Throughout his 10 years as a referee for the international soccer organization FIFA, Coulibaly -- a 39-year-old Malian who was born on the Fourth of July -- has been a divisive figure with his seemingly arbitrary blows of the whistle.

Before yesterday's debacle -- his first and likely last appearance on a World Cup field -- Coulibaly angered fans for ignoring blatant fouls in a January match between Egypt and Ghana.

Getty Images

Four years ago, in a World Cup qualifying match between Cameroon and Egypt, he left everyone scratching their heads when he allowed a penalty kick during the final minutes of added injury time -- a controversial and rare call for a tied game.

Coulibaly, a financial auditor for the notoriously corrupt Malian government, was also subject to taunting on a Facebook page set up by Tunisian fans furious over his calls against their team.

A profile in promotional materials for the World Cup says the referee "believes that the greatest challenge facing referees today is always trying to minimize errors with the goal of reaching a zero error rate, something difficult given that the football is becoming increasingly faster as a result of scientific research and investment."

Coulibaly -- who never made it beyond playing college soccer -- has long been referred to as "Sleepy Eyes" for his heavy eyelids.

On his FIFA Web page, Coulibaly, who has refereed five Africa Cup events between 2002 and 2010, lists his hobby as volleyball -- not soccer.

All day yesterday, angry fans defaced Coulibaly's Wikipedia page.

"Coulibaly is rumored to hate the United States of America with the burning passion of a white-hot sun," one poster wrote.

New Facebook pages sprouted up throughout the day with titles like "America hates Koman Coulibaly" and "You suck! Find another job!"

But fans can take solace in knowing that Coulibaly likely won't be back for another World Cup.

Given his horrendous call, officials probably won't use him again during this tournament, and FIFA caps its age for referees at 40.

chuck.bennett@nypost.com

Topics

Comments (25)

Post Your Comment

Report Abuse

Gmany3k

06/19/2010 7:31 PM

the solution is to put in Instant replay and over rule ref's
as should be mistakes and cheating can be corrected in this way.
Report Abuse

goldenboy8745

06/19/2010 6:29 PM

Congrats, NYP. You have once again outdone yourself with bad "reporting." While the ref clearly blew the call, and should not ref any more games at the World Cup, how exactly does he have a checkered past? Oh right, I forgot. He does have a wiki page and he enjoys volleyball. Way to crack the case!
Report Abuse

DonOne

06/19/2010 6:17 PM

JV, I get my news from reading all the newspapers and magazines from around the country you know? Wait, that is a trick question. I wasn't prepared for that. You didn't tell me you were going to ask that. This isn't fair. I'm only answering questions from Betty Brown from now on.
Report Abuse

OlinMac1

06/19/2010 6:00 PM

"sleepy eyes" probably made book on the game and has a payday waiting after enough time has passed .. he did not blow the call .. he made the call to make his dough .. no different than athletes taking dope - "we all do it" they say .. so what?

big deal .. get over it .. vote for barry hussein obla bla again as prez in 2 years .. listen to nancy pelosi: sorry voters, we run this country so get used to it.
Report Abuse

JWV

06/19/2010 3:27 PM

DonOne

I take it that you are not a Fox News viewer? What's the matter are you afraid of hearing the truth? I suppose that Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Brian Williams or Keith Olbermann are better sources for the news? You lefties love to knock Fox News and Talk Radio but you never tell us where you get your news from.
Report Abuse

یک

06/19/2010 3:25 PM

hey son!
Report Abuse

DonOne

06/19/2010 1:00 PM

All of you trashing the ref obvioulsy did not watch the match or listen to commentary prior to the blown call. Until that moment one would have thought he was on USA's payroll. Explain how that jives with the ignorant rants here.
Report Abuse

ammo17

06/19/2010 12:32 PM

the bookies got to him.we should outlaw soccer in this country.no score and someone wins,how can vegas make a line on this stupid game.