Reina rues beach ball goal

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has admitted he took his eye off the real ball for Darren Bent’s controversial winner for Sunderland on Saturday.

The Spain international was beaten when Bent’s shot struck a beach ball, thrown onto the pitch by a Liverpool fan, and deflected past him.

The goal should have been disallowed with a drop ball given after the intervention of an ‘outside agent’, but referee Mike Jones allowed it to stand.

Reina told Spanish radio station Cope: “It was such bad luck. I lost sight of the official ball and stayed on the red one.

“When he shot, it startled me and I went for the red ball instinctively as it was the closest to me and the other went past me. It all happened very quickly.

“This had never happened before in my life. I didn’t know what to do.

“A lot of things were going through my head but I honestly thought that the goal would stand and no-one was going to disallow it.”

Reina says Jones made a major mistake in awarding the goal and concedes if he had known about the rule himself he would have complained.

“We didn’t know the rule because otherwise we would have protested,” added Reina.

“But that’s what makes the mistake of the ref even more grave.

“We didn’t know it because it’s not our job. As much as we can laugh about it now, on the day we had a torrid time.”