holland lost because spain were better, and because they put 1 more in the back of the net than the dutch did. criticizing the officiating doesn't HAVE to be the same as questioning the result, you know.

though some dutch are grumbling about it, i think it's a separate issue. the better team did win, but in a match marred by some awful officiating decisions. they negatively affected the quality of play for both sides, and probably in roughly equal measures, and really dragged down play.

the two semi-final teams were much better. the ref in the uruguay-netherlands match kept signaling for the divers to get up and wouldn't give out cards unless it was obvious the player was not playing the ball. but when needed, he handed out the correct card. that creates an infinitely more agreeable game than giving out cards for playing the ball and failing to give the right ones for those who don't.