Somebody wrote:
Ortega dived *before* Stam made any contact. Good decision by the ref, and
a crucial one. Stam was already on 1 yellow so he would have been sent off
as well as giving away a penalty.
Somebody else wrote:
What's scary is that the ref. probably didn't see the dive. He
had a bad angle, and probably didn't go for the penatly because
of Dutch player reaction alone. But then he saw Ortega get up
and headbutt Van der Sar, and decided only then....
I didn't tape the game, but watching the live broadcast, it looked like a tripping to me, though I admit Ortega did over-react somewhat. Indeed, Van der Sar himself conceded after the match that it could have been a penalty. Let me quote his exact words, 'I don't think there was a penalty. I said to Ortega: 'Come on, get up!' But afterwards, I realised that it probably had been a penalty.....'