The curse of the phantom goal

DISCLAIMER

The calls for goal line technology has begun again.



The FA Cup Semi-final clash between Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspurs provided more evidence for the call. Juan Mata's strike was deemed to have crossed the line eventhough video replays clearly showed that it indeed did not get anywhere near crossing the line.

Watch the video here on youtube. Pay attention between 0:54-0:59.... The ball was struck at the legs of fallen John Terry and bounced in front of Benoit Assou-Ekotto, whose legs were on the line. Watch 0:56..

Now how did the officials get it wrong. Well, look at the video again and pause it at 0:07... At this point you see Lampard in the bottom right of the video. The assistant referee is somewhere at his 4 o'clock position (as evident went he turns around a second later). Knowing where the assistant referee is important as we can see that he didn't have a very clear view of the ball to make a call.
What did the assistant referee see? Watch the video from 0:46-0:53... so many players were shielding his view of the ball. If the ball had truly crossed the line, Ramires would not have gone for the ball but raised his arm. At 0:55 you see the officiating referee come in at the top left corner. The officiating referee has a clearer view and he was much closer to the action but he took the assistant referee's decision that it was a goal.

Now, what difference does it make? Chelsea went on to win 5-1 anyway... True.. It was always going to be Chelsea's game for the taking but this type of blatant human error would not be allowed to happen if the goal line technology was implemented.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has spoken against the technology saying it removes the element of human error from the game. This will cause people to lose interest in the game as debating these errors would not occur. Horse-excrement!!

There is just too much to gain from the technology. Fairness for all teams. Fairness in judgement, fairness in awarding penalties, fairness in offside calls... This leaves the teams to rely on footballing tactics and stamina, rather than the increasing reliance of officiating errors. In some cases, teams have been able to change the referees mind with constant heckling in the heat of the moment. If there is hard undisputable evidence, then the true champion will always win. Let's start with goal line, then move to open play monitoring.


السلام عليكم

Peace be unto you

*Other incidences of the phantom goal occurring :-
1966 - World Cup - England vs West Germany (Geoff Hurst's strike)
2008 - Championship League - Watford vs Reading (Stephen Hunt's corner)
2009 - Championship League - Bristol City vs Crystal Palace (Freddie Sear's strike). This was clearly a goal but it was disallowed.
2010 - England vs Germany (Frank Lampard's strike)