Venezuela, Uruguay win amid referee

By Brian Homewood

PUERTO LA CRUZ, Venezuela (Reuters) - Uruguay and hosts Venezuela registered their first victories in the Copa America on Saturday, although both victories were marred by foul play and refereeing problems.

On a wet, windy day in the Andean city of San Cristobal, a bruising Uruguay beat Bolivia 1-0 in a Group A double bill while Venezuela overcame Peru 2-0 after their opponents had a player sent off in the 14th minute.

Mexican referee Benito Armando Archundia, caught up in a storm last week for his handling of the United States v Canada Gold Cup semi-final, also angered Peru by not awarding a second-half penalty.

The game, which produced Venezuela's first Copa win for three decades, ended in ugly scenes after Alejandro Cichero played keepy-uppy near his own penalty area and was booked, apparently for ungentlemanly conduct.

Cichero's behavior incensed Peru, leading to a scuffle on the edge of the area and pushing and shoving as the players left the pitch.

Venezuela went top of the group with four points, followed by Peru and Uruguay with three apiece and Bolivia with one.

"Venezuela did very little, we created five or six clear scoring chances in the second half," said Peru coach Julio Cesar Uribe.

"The sending-off influenced (the outcome) but we have to accept it as part of football."