Canada settled for a 1-1 tie with Honduras in World Cup qualifying action, but it was Archundia's two late fouls he called on the Canadian soccer team that may have hindered its chances of advancing.
With defender Jason deVos giving Canada a 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute, Archundia awarded Honduras a penalty kick six minutes later. Amado Gulevara made no mistake and placed a shot in the back of the Canadian net to tie the game.
It appeared that Canada took the lead a minute later when Olivier Occean scored, but he was called for a foul, which negated the goal.
Honduras' Maynor Suazo (left) heads the ball past Team Canada's Julian de Guzman. (CP /Jeff McIntosh)
Canada's Mark Watson said the penalty kick shouldn't have been awarded as he never touched Honduran David Suazo when he went down in the Canadian crease.
"I didn't touch him," Watson said after the game. "Thank God the games are televised now and everyone can see it for their own eyes.
"We could have had a very good victory and put us back in the group and it was snatched away."
DeVos, who was also involved in the play, said he was disappointed for the almost 10,000 fans who showed up for the game.
"It wasn't a penalty," he said. "He slipped. You can see the slip marks on the pitch . . . The lad slipped in the box and fell over. There was no contact."
Watson also claims the foul against Occean was a bad call.
Canadian coach Frank Yallop said he's never seen officiating like this in his entire soccer career.
"Two calls in a row," he said. "It was poor, very poor. "I won't use the word cheated, but that's what comes to mind."
The tie puts Canada in a vulnerable position. The Canadians need to win three of their next four games to have a chance at advancing to the next round of the World Cup qualifications.
"It is very, very disappointing to come away with just a tie in this game," said Yallop. "It's tough, but we can still do it."
However, Honduran coach Raul Martinez said the two fouls were legitimate calls.
"The guy was tripped in the box and there was nothing wrong with the penalty," he said on the first call. "On the goal that was taken away (Occean's) foot was up. I thought it was a dangerous foot."
Martinez doesn't blame the Canadian fans for booing Archundia.
"We can understand why Canada would be very upset," he said. "That's not our problem. We're happy with the result. We got the point."
Canada (ranked 99th) will now fly to Costa Rica to play on Wednesday against the 33rd ranked team. Costa Rica was favoured to win the pool before the round began.
The Canadians then face the 47th ranked Honduras squad in a return match Oct. 9.
Canada will be without deVos, who drew his second yellow card of the playoffs, and injured Paul Stalteri, who drew a red card for throwing a water bottle on the field to show his displeasure of the disallowed goal.
with files from Canadian Press
