Uruguay players charged for confronting World Cup referee

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Four Uruguay players were charged with offensive behavior by FIFA on Monday for their angry pursuit of the referee after being eliminated from the World Cup.

The Uruguayan soccer federation also faces an extra charge of discrimination, FIFA said without giving details.

The Uruguay team thought it should been awarded a penalty kick in stoppage time of its 2-0 victory over Ghana on Friday. One more goal would have sent Uruguay to the round of 16 instead of South Korea.

FIFA said Edinson Cavani, José María Giménez, Diego Godín and Fernando Muslera face disciplinary cases for “offensive behavior and violations of the principles of fair play” and misconduct.

Cavani, Godín and Muslera were each playing at their fourth World Cup and Giménez was at this third.

They were among a group of players who confronted German referee Daniel Siebert after the final whistle at Al Janoub Stadium.

FIFA did not specify a timetable for its disciplinary committee to rule on the cases.

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