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A guide to carding and fouls at the FIFA Women's World Cup

Jun 7, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ivory Coast midfielder Rita Akaffou (6) and Germany forward Alexandra Popp (18) battle for control of the ball in the second half of a Group B soccer match in the 2015 women's World Cup at Lansdowne Stadium. Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports (Reuters)

Soccer is one of those sports where umpiring decisions can largely influence a match. They can swing momentum and produce goals that are hard to come by; it can win you games during cutthroat situations.

In 2012 at the London Olympics, during the Canada-USA semifinal, we all hit a boiling point when the penalty kick was awarded in the dying moments to give the U.S. the go-ahead goal. It rocked our nervous system. That one decision ended Canada’s run for a shot at a gold medal and some argue the free kick simply wasn't there. We can argue why it seemed to be a completely random call or just move on and accept that the decision was final and was there in the referee's eyes. Whatever the case, these typical match-altering decisions send fans and pundits into fits of rage and we become an anti-referee army when things don’t go the way we want. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Going into Friday's games at the FIFA Women's World Cup we’ve seen 32 yellow cards dished out and 401 fouls given by the referees. That’s a lot of whistle blowing but par for the course. It’s much less than the men’s game. At the 2014 Brazil World Cup an average of 2.8 cards were given; in 2010 that average was 3.8. No one will ever understand how referees compute actions, sliding tackles and fake dives except the referees themselves. They have prime position, access to unique angles and judge accordingly. We, as spectators, have access to slow motion replays. But, spectators aren’t in charge of controlling the game of football.

We saw the penalty given to Canada against China in the tournament’s opener which Christine Sinclair belted the ball into the back of the net for the game winner. Was the decision fair? Maybe. Not for us to judge. The referee thought it was an illegal challenge and delivered her decision. During Germany's 10-0 dismantling of the Ivory Coast, we saw 39 fouls given and six yellow cards; 29 of those fouls were committed by Ivory Coast including all six yellow cards. Anyone watching that game would have seen some reckless play from the less-talented losing side - one running around on a natural high as World Cup debutantes playing the world’s best and trying to neutralize the Germans with physical play. There are reasons for making certain calls and the referees are the only ones who know best because they witness it all in the flesh, and not from the comfort of a loud bar or sanctuary of the couch.

What we as spectators have to digest, is that the referees make calls based on what they can see. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong and make some howlers. Human error is the beauty and ugliness of football. And we as spectators tend to focus on the one bad call – especially if it results in a goal - and forget about the 38 good calls. The challenge for referees are, not only are they fixated on making the right call in pressure situations, they have to weed out the on-field theatrics when players milk shoves in the back or tackles that look OK but an added somersault roll changes the complexion in order to win a free kick.

Whatever happens from here, we are guaranteed to see some contentious decisions on the pitch. Some will result in penalties. Others will swing momentum. And some fouls or cards will go unnoticed. In order to get through this World Cup without throwing the couch through the TV or tablet, we need to accept human error is part of soccer, part of what makes the World Cup and without it, we’d be forever scrutinizing each and every single fall, trip and slide that would make the game longer, less fun and unbearable to watch.

And that’s just not soccer.