Opinions differ on Birmingham goal

Sir Alex Ferguson and Alex McLeish have been split over the legitimacy of Birmingham’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United.

Birmingham had acquitted themselves well against United in their English Premier League clash at St Andrew’s on Tuesday, but appeared destined for a 1-0 defeat after Dimitar Berbatov struck for the visitors in the 58th minute.

But the home side rescued a point when Lee Bowyer prodded in Nikola Zigic’s knock-down on 89 minutes, though the ball appeared to come off the towering Serbia striker’s arm before it made its way to the goalscorer.

Ferguson vented his frustration at the decision to allow the goal, claiming Zigic had also fouled defender Rio Ferdinand when he rose for the ball.

“Handball, a foul on the centre-half, he went right through him,” Ferguson told Sky Sports .

“If the referee can’t see that, what chance have you got?”

“At this level, in a game of that importance, you hope you’re going to get a referee that can see that. If he can’t, what chance have you got?”

“I’ve got no complaints with my team today – they fought hard, they worked hard and had only two days’ rest.”

“They have run their socks off to get a result and it’s hard on them.”

McLeish saw the incident differently, and said it would have been tough on his side to not pay the goal.

“I’ve seen it again and it wasn’t offside,” he said.

“It looks like it’s come off Zigic’s arm but it doesn’t look like he’s played it deliberately.”

“It was in a melee of players and he was trying to keep the move alive and I think it would have been harsh if he had been penalised for deliberate handball.”