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A World Cup beset by controversy over referees' questionable calls -- or lack thereof -- was hit with another in the first half of a Sunday's second-round match between England and Germany when officials failed to give England a goal on a ball that clearly passed the goal line.
With England trailing 2-1 in the first half of Germany's 4-1 victory in the round of 16, a shot from Frank Lampard from just outside the penalty area hit the crossbar and bounced down, but referee Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay did not award a goal.
Replays showed the ball had crossed the goal line by more than a foot. After landing inside the goal, the ball spun back to Germany's goalkeeper.
The moment recalled a famously controversial goal from the 1966 World Cup final between England and Germany.
In that game, England and Germany were tied at 2-2 in extra time when Geoff Hurst's shot struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and spun back into play. That time, the referee consulted his linesman, who awarded the goal.
Hurst went on to score a third goal in England's 4-2 victory at Wembley.
But Sunday's was a gaffe that has become par for the course in this World Cup and will surely touch off a new round of criticism, despite Germany's pulling away in the second half with two more goals.
There was Brazilian star Kaka's automatic ejection against Ivory Coast after making a minor amount of contact with Kader Keita to draw a second yellow card of the game.
And of course the "We Wuz Robbed!" goal that wasn't for American Maurice Edu against Slovenia.
Koman Coulibaly whistle not only nullified Edu's goal, it prompted a wave of outrage. Several days later, the U.S. players were still getting text messages and e-mails about it from folks back home.
Switzerland played a man down after midfielder Valon Behrami was sent off in the 31st minute with a straight red card, getting tangled up with not one, but two Chilean players. Never mind that the second Chilean appeared to be going down in agony before contact was even made.
Brazil's Luis Fabiano didn't even bother trying to deny he'd handled the ball on the way to his second goal last Sunday night.
Some refs said they wouldn't mind explaining themselves and can even see the merit of it, don't expect it to happen anytime soon. Ditto for other measures that could bring a little more transparency to questionable calls.
Video replay isn't an option so long as Sepp Blatter is FIFA president, and he's all but certain to be re-elected to a fourth four-year term next year. And the idea of adding an extra set of eyes behind each goal has been kicked into the long grass and not likely to resurface anytime soon.
"We're all accustomed to the fact that if it's an NFL playoff game and there's a call that's in question, there will be a statement by the league from the referees, but FIFA operates differently," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said last week. "From our end, we get used to that. And we all have friends and family who ask us the same questions that most of you ask, and you end up saying that's just how it is sometimes, and then you move on and you get ready for the next game."
Source: AP
With England trailing 2-1 in the first half of Germany's 4-1 victory in the round of 16, a shot from Frank Lampard from just outside the penalty area hit the crossbar and bounced down, but referee Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay did not award a goal.
Replays showed the ball had crossed the goal line by more than a foot. After landing inside the goal, the ball spun back to Germany's goalkeeper.
The moment recalled a famously controversial goal from the 1966 World Cup final between England and Germany.
In that game, England and Germany were tied at 2-2 in extra time when Geoff Hurst's shot struck the underside of the crossbar, bounced down and spun back into play. That time, the referee consulted his linesman, who awarded the goal.
Hurst went on to score a third goal in England's 4-2 victory at Wembley.
But Sunday's was a gaffe that has become par for the course in this World Cup and will surely touch off a new round of criticism, despite Germany's pulling away in the second half with two more goals.
There was Brazilian star Kaka's automatic ejection against Ivory Coast after making a minor amount of contact with Kader Keita to draw a second yellow card of the game.
And of course the "We Wuz Robbed!" goal that wasn't for American Maurice Edu against Slovenia.
Koman Coulibaly whistle not only nullified Edu's goal, it prompted a wave of outrage. Several days later, the U.S. players were still getting text messages and e-mails about it from folks back home.
Switzerland played a man down after midfielder Valon Behrami was sent off in the 31st minute with a straight red card, getting tangled up with not one, but two Chilean players. Never mind that the second Chilean appeared to be going down in agony before contact was even made.
Brazil's Luis Fabiano didn't even bother trying to deny he'd handled the ball on the way to his second goal last Sunday night.
Some refs said they wouldn't mind explaining themselves and can even see the merit of it, don't expect it to happen anytime soon. Ditto for other measures that could bring a little more transparency to questionable calls.
Video replay isn't an option so long as Sepp Blatter is FIFA president, and he's all but certain to be re-elected to a fourth four-year term next year. And the idea of adding an extra set of eyes behind each goal has been kicked into the long grass and not likely to resurface anytime soon.
"We're all accustomed to the fact that if it's an NFL playoff game and there's a call that's in question, there will be a statement by the league from the referees, but FIFA operates differently," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said last week. "From our end, we get used to that. And we all have friends and family who ask us the same questions that most of you ask, and you end up saying that's just how it is sometimes, and then you move on and you get ready for the next game."
Source: AP