In the Championship game between Bristol City and Crystal Palace on Saturday that finished 1-0 to City, Crystal Palace had a perfectly good goal disallowed. When I say disallowed, I really should say, not given, because the referee and assistant referee apparently didn’t see that the ball had clearly gone into the net and rebounded back off the rear stanchion in the goal.
Controversy
Although difficult to see how both officials missed the goal whilst both teams and the entire crowd saw it, one has to take their word that they simply didn’t see it. Surely it is now the time to use the technology that we have to clear up these type of incidents and do away with the controversy and bad feeling that inevitably follows.
Unfortunately, for reasons best known to them, FIFA and UEFA don’t seem to want to embrace technology to help them and the game. That defies common sense.
Refused
Crystal Palace asked for the game to be replayed but the football league have refused. Their spokesperson explained their decision and also suggested that they would be happy to use technology.
“The referee’s decision must be final. Even in a case such as this where there has been an error of judgement. To do otherwise would be contrary to the laws of the game. With regard to the use of goal-line technology, the Football League has been saying for some considerable time that we would be happy to trial a prototype system in its competitions. However, until the law-making bodies of the world game sanction the use of any such system this cannot happen.”
Referees’ boss Keith Hackett has said sorry to Palace manager Neil Warnock and to the Crystal Palace fans that travelled to Bristol. He has confirmed that the referee in question has been dropped from his next scheduled game although Warnock is not happy about that, asking how that helps him.
As well as being angry with the referee and the football league and Keith Hackett, Warnock was also incensed with Bristol City boss Gary Johnson and his players saying that they, “could have shown more sportsmanship because they knew it was a goal”.
Speaking on Sunday the Palace boss was unrepentant about his post-match comments insisting he felt City were morally obliged to have allowed his side to score a goal after Shoebridge’s blunder.
“Nothing has changed. I feel really hurt and almost cheated out of a result. I felt sorry for the lads after all the work and preparation they put in. We’ve already got a transfer embargo upon us and we lost Stern John last week in the first game, a striker, so to score goals is hard enough as it is. The body language of the Bristol players and the fans should have told the referee it was a goal. If it had been at the other end of the pitch, there would have been a riot. Refs make mistakes but morally I felt Bristol should have let us score a goal there.”
Not surprisingly, Bristol City boss Gary Johnson was quick to defend himself and his players and hit back at Warnock.
“Cheating is not a very nice word to use especially when we had nothing to do with it except for being the opposition on this occasion. We knew the ball had gone into the net, but we got word the ref said there was an infringement so there is nothing more we can do. It happened to us twice last year and it is very disappointing and you have a little moan and you get on with it. I can understand Neil being disappointed but you have to choose your words these days. But nobody has cheated, nobody means to make mistakes and we had a perfectly good goal on the day ruled out for offside. That happens. It will happen to us many times and to Palace many times and you are aggrieved and you have got to get on with it.”
So there we have it. Three questions for you:
1. Should we use technology to decide on goal-line decisions?
2. Should Bristol City have allowed Palace to score a goal?
3. Should the football league have replayed the game?
Your thoughts?
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