The fix is in

El-ahrairah was correct in his assessment of FIFA refereeing. Those referees are as unbiased and objective as the New York Times editorial staff.

I watched the first half of the Germany-Sweden matchup and even to a casual observer such as myself it was clear the Swedes were getting the shaft. They had about twice as many fouls as the Germans, and that smirking jerk of a referee was a bit too eager to red-card a Swedish defender, thus ensuring the 2-0 German lead would be insurmountable.

Now I'm not a hard-core Sweden fan but it appears to me that FIFA really wants the home team to make it to the finals. I think Brazil and England will get plenty of "help" too; the last thing FIFA wants is a Ghana-Ecuador final.