After the match, Coach Bradley gave the most likely explanation. He speculated that the ref had already decided to call a foul on the play because he thought be

After the match, Coach Bradley gave the most likely explanation. He speculated that the ref had already decided to call a foul on the play because he thought better of awarding the free kick in the first place--so, a makeup call. Usually there's a lot of pushing and shoving in the box, so you can get away with this. Unfortunately for the ref, the quick goal and prominent bear hug by Slovenia made him look extremely foolish.