The ugly scenes that marred last night's Gold Cup Semi-Final between Mexico and Panama gave birth to an incredible picture - the Panama team all huddled around a banner that contained the words: "CONCACAF thieves, corrupt, corrupt, corrupt."
CONCACAF has endured a very difficult year. Having been embroiled in FIFA corruption scandals, with former President Jack Warner facing extradition to the U.S. for FBI questioning. The Gold Cup was supposed to be a demonstration of what the confederation really represents and restore its reputation worldwide.
The Panama team's banner and their anger after their bitter defeat to Mexico, thanks to two soft penalties being awarded to the Mexicans very late in the game, has brought accusations about a conspiracy to the forefront. Does the Gold Cup favor the biggest teams?
The conspiracy effectively alleges that CONCACAF have favored a scenario whereby Mexico face the USA in the tournament's final match. A scenario that would see the confederations biggest two teams face off in a lucrative match that would maximize interest and profits for the confederation's premier tournament.
This theory is given strength by the fact that Mexico and the US were kept apart in the knockout stage draw, and were seemingly destined for the landmark Final, which would guarantee the highest possible viewing figures.
The controversy that surrounded Mexico´s Semi-Final victory, mirrors similar claims that were made by Costa Ricans after Mexico were awarded a similarly soft penalty during their Quarter-Final match.
With U.S. hosts having already been eliminated before the Mexico/Panama Semi-Final and the Panamanians leading with just minutes to go - Sunday's Final looked set to contain the less lucrative lineup of Jamaica vs Panama.
Having seen the record viewing figures for the US Women's World Cup Final match, CONCACAF may well have been inclined to try and maximize the chances of similarly high figures for the Gold Cup Final. Especially as both Mexico and the US teams enjoyed high viewing figure ratings during their group stage matches, but to pull off such a stunt would surely be incredibly difficult if not impossible?
It would mean that the heads of the confederation would have agreed with referees and linesman to award decisions in favor of the two biggest teams. It would mean that the USA would have received a penalty to avoid being eliminated. And it would also mean that the free kick awarded to Jamaica, which lead to Giles Barne's second goal for the Reggae Boyz, was a referee choosing to go against this plot.
Poor officiating has no doubt dogged the 2015 Gold Cup, but to call it a conspiracy and to question the integrity of referees and linesman is surely going to far.
No doubt Mexico are incredibly lucky to be featuring in Sunday's final, but Jamaica have earned their place alongside them and may well leave Philadelphia with the trophy.
While the Panamanians dwell on the soreness of their defeat, the refereeing in the region has to be addressed by CONCACAF, and if the game is to receive the international recognition that they are after then actions need to be taken to improve not just the levels of football being played, but also those officiating it.