World Cup - How Did the Ref Miss This One?

Check this video for yourself and see if you don't think this play from yesterday's Women's World Cup match between Australia and Equatorial Guinea (who?) is not one of the worst non-calls ever:
After a shot by the Matildas' Leena Khamis hit the post in the 15th minute, Guinean defender Bruna (#2) caught the ball inside the 6, held it for a few seconds and casually dropped it. Amazingly there was no call from Hungarian referee Gyoengyi Gaal, who appeared to be about 30 yards away, or from the assistant referees. It boggles the mind to think that not one of three officials could see such a blatant hand ball.

The play was reminiscent of a game five years ago when I coached the U13 Medford Strikers Dynamyte. We were in the second half of a league game against CP United at Ark Road in Medford. The score was tied, 0-0, when one of our girls kicked a ball that bounced over the head of the keeper and towards the goal. One of their defenders, standing just behind the goalline, reached up and swatted the ball out with both hands. Some of our girls said the ball was already over the goalline when this happened. If not, it should have been a red card and a penalty kick.

Like yesterday's World Cup game, neither the referee nor the assistant referees made the call. No one taped the game, but a parent on our team took many still photos and one showed the opposing defender holding her hands to her face in horror, as if realizing what she had done. (I am guessing she thought she was well behind the line when she handled the ball, then realized she was not.)  Which turned out to be nothing in the eyes of the officials. After the game, which ended scoreless, a United parent came up to me and apologized. Why? He wasn't the ref. But it was a nice gesture.  And the opposing coach, showing he had a sense of humor, said to me, "You would have missed the PK."

Missing a call in a kids game is one thing. At the professional level, especially at the World Cup, it is inexcusable. Let's see if we hear from the refs on what they were thinking.