The thread title made me ROFL. I watched the game zapping through swiss and german TV. And all the commentators and experts agreed that the best man on the field was the ref. And mind you, the german commentators were pro-US, since they were positively surprised by the US team.
The only mistakes IMO were the goals both teams made, but weren't counted since the refs were calling offside (Italy in minute 35, US sometimes in the 2nd half). Judging by the replays, it was a questionable decision, both times.
First red card, no discussion necessary. De Rossi is an asshole and he's known for it. He pulled something similar in a test game against Switzerland just before the WC.
Second red card was clear too. I've seen the replay several time on a big TV. He didn't touch the ball, just slammed into Pablo's foot.
Pope's 2 yellow cards were both justified, although it looked like the ref forgot that Pope already had a yellow card when he issued the 2nd. He got the red card out, just when he was writing down Pope's name on his paper thing.
All in all, crazy game. US team played well, Italy played like ****. But the first goal proved that the Italians can score out of nothing.
