Football blog 10 times the referee got it badly wrong

Before I start writing this week’s blog, I want to clarify something. I am a big supporter of referees and think they do a great job on the whole. However, like players, referees are also human and liable to make mistakes, as we have seen in the last week, and indeed, every week.

However, here are ten occasions, when I think we can all agree, the officials were wrong in a big way.

CLIVE THOMAS 3 June 1978

BRAZIL and Sweden are locked at 1-1 in their opening World Cup game as the clock races to 90 minutes when the Brazilians win a corner. Zico headed it into the net and the Brazilians thought they had secured a dramatic victory. But Welsh referee Clive Thomas had blown for full time as soon as Nelinho had taken the corner, obstinately saying time was up. With that denial of drama, Thomas would never had made a career on Sky’s modern football coverage.

CLIVE ALLEN 6 September 1980

PLAYING for Crystal Palace, Allen scored one of the best goals of his career with a thunderous free-kick that whistled into the top corner. Allen’s shot was so well struck that it flew into the goal, hit the stanchion that holds up the net and came out again. What a shame then that it all happened too quickly for referee Derek Webb, who thought the ball had merely hit the woodwork. Even with 1980 camera angles, it was obvious the ball had gone in!

PATRICK BATTISTON vs HARALD SCHUMACHER 8 July 1982

FRANCE and West Germany played out one of the World Cup’s most thrilling matches, a 3-3 draw eventually won by the Germans on penalties. Sadly, the overriding memory more than 30 years later remains that of Harald Schumacher’s challenge on Patrick Battiston. The German goalkeeper caught Battiston in the head with his hip, knocking out teeth and sending the French attacker into a coma. Dutch referee Charles Corver did not even give a foul, let alone send-off Schumacher for this act of thuggery.

THE HAND OF GOD 22 June 1986

THIS was the afternoon that came to define the career of Diego Armando Maradona. Hero or villain? The reality is both, although the fact he scored one of the greatest goals of all-time is irrelevant here. Anyway, would have that happened if he hadn’t punched one into the net three minutes before? In challenging England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Maradona got there first and punched the ball past Shilton into the empty net. The English players waited for referee Ali Bin Nisser of Tunisia to disallow it for such a blatant handball, but the whistle never came and the ‘Mano de Dios’ would forever be celebrated in Argentina and Scotland!

SENSE OF HUMOUR BYPASS 30 December 1995

BEING the referee of a football match is a very difficult job, and sometimes a bit of humour can lighten the mood. Sadly for Dougie Smith, that was very much lacking on this occasion. He had dropped his yellow card which a certain Paul Gascoigne ran back to give him. Gazza cheekily ‘booked’ the ref for his mistake. What did he get for his troubles? Yes, that’s right, he was shown a yellow card. Definitely the worst case of over-officiating in the history of football.

SPAIN v SOUTH KOREA 22 June 2002

THIS match left a bad taste in the mouth for all Spaniards and most football lovers around the world. Spain had two goals controversially disallowed, including one when the ball was ruled to have gone out (when it didn’t) as they drew 0-0 before losing on penalties. Coming just four days after the Koreans had been beneficiaries of good fortune from a referee in beating Italy, observers were left to wonder if something sinister was going on behind the scenes.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xj-4gM29C74ROY

CARROLL’S CLANGER 4 January 2005 PEDRO MENDES should have been a Tottenham hero. With his side drawing 0-0 at Manchester United, he tried his luck from almost 50 yards. United goalkeeper Roy Carroll got in a terrible mess and fumbled the ball a few yards over the line before desperately clawing it back. Everyone knew Mendes had scored, especially Carroll himself as he quickly glanced at referee Mark Clattenberg and assistant Ray Lewis. Amazingly, the officials didn’t give it. Yet Sky Sports had already awarded the goal, only to hastily have to change their screen again. The match finished 0-0 and Spurs would have to wait seven more years before they won at Old Trafford.

LUIS GARCIA’s GHOST GOAL 3 May 2005

THOSE of a red persuasion on Merseyside will disagree with me on this one, but Liverpool made it to the Champions League final in Istanbul on the back of one of the luckiest calls in football. Luis Garcia’s shot was certainly close to the line, it probably touched the line, but did it cross the line? Certainly not and no official could be sure of that with the naked eye. But the goal stood, the Reds went to Istanbul and the rest is history.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=lv5JLJ-i8L0

GRAHAM POLL 22 June 2006

THIS award should be shared jointly between Poll and Croatian defender Josip Simunic. Poll was picked as the man to handle the explosive final World Cup group game between Croatia and Australia. With the score 2-2 and the Aussies going through at the Croatian’s expense, things livened up in the last few minutes. A player from each side was sent off before Simunic was given a second yellow card but somehow escaped being sent off. Instead of using his head, Simunic did another bad foul to pick up a third yellow and finally, a red, and forever condemn Poll to being the referee of three yellow cards.

THE FRANK LAMPARD ‘GOAL’ 24 June 2010

A goal that changed football. Yet, it didn’t count at the time. With England trailing Germany 2-1 at the 2010 World Cup, Frank Lampard crashed a shot over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. It hit the bar and bounced down a good two yards over the line, but neither referee Jorge Larrionda from Uruguay or his assistant awarded the goal. England would go on to lose 4-1, so no change there as they failed again at a major tournament. The change was the introduction of goal-line technology for the 2014 World Cup, and now for the Premier League as well.