A Game Out of Control; BYU vs New Mexico

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, the referee's (with perhaps the help of video replay on the big screen) were able to make the right call and hand out a red card to Zidane. Now what about all the times when the red card was not handed out when it was merited?
The Mountain West Conference women's soccer semifinal game between BYU and UNM became the most popular soccer game in the nation when parts of the game were aired on ESPN. UNM defender Elizabeth Lambert was shown punching, kicking, and yanking BYU players to the ground by their hair—all of which somehow went unnoticed by all three referees on the field. “That is a straight red card!” exclaimed Mountain West soccer analyst Mark Rogondino on a number of occasions during the game.
During the live broadcast of the game aired on November 5, 2009, many of these infractions were caught on tape and seen by the viewers. Soccer analysts Mark Rogondino and Bill Riley who were calling the game had this to say as it was happening:
Mark: “Our referee right now is going to have to get this one in order. Lambert is very fortunate to still be in this game. The referee has missed a couple of cards here. That is a straight red right here! There is no doubt about it. That is a straight red!”
Bill: “That is unbelievable, is what that is.”
Mark: “That is two opportunities and our referee here, Joe Pomantle, has had and he missed them both.”
The referee’s clearly made a lot of mistakes in this game and missed a lot of opportunities to get a hold on the game. When this happens, the players suffer, the teams suffer, and the game suffers. "You can never control the officiating or what they call," she said. "We want to make sure that this doesn't become a distraction," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood after the game.
See videos aired on ESPN:

Clearly the referee’s allowed the game to get way out of hand, but this is not a unique case in the fact that video replay could have aided in a big way. Luckily, the rough play by New Mexico did not alter the outcome of the game as BYU came out victorious with a 1-0 win. However, BYU did not play at the top of their game in the following round when they lost the championship 1-0 to SDSU. Could the game with New Mexico have had lingering effects? We cannot know how far the effects of one bad game can go. One bad call can change the whole outcome of tournaments and seasons. Next time, I will discuss the repercussions of one bad call and how it changed the world for the country of Ireland.