England tumbled out of the World Cup after suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Germany in the Round of 16 here on Sunday. But Germany’s comprehensive final result was marred by a glaring refereeing error a few minutes before the break.
Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistant denied England a perfect goal when the score line was 2-1. Even though Frank Lampard’s shot from the edge of the penalty box crashed into the crossbar and bounced at least a yard inside, the officials were unmoved.
The ball was back in play so fast that the English players simply had no time to question the verdict of the officials. History almost repeated itself, the only difference being that England were at the receiving end of a dubious decision from the referee. In the final of the 1966 World Cup, Geoff Hurst put England ahead, 3-2, against Germany in extra time with an effort that bounced off the underside of the crossbar. The Germans contested that the ball hadn’t crossed the line but USSR assistant referee Tofik Bakhramov ruled that it had. Despite analyses with multiple video angles, the goal remains contentious to this day.
It is very difficult to say that the disallowed goal altered the complexion of the match as England were in dire straits after the break. But the English will be furious over the competence of the officials. We have to remember that it was a World Cup game.
With the intention of avoiding crowd trouble, action replays of Lampard’s goal weren’t aired at the stadium but English fans had got the message from their friends watching TV back home. At half-time, the English fans bathed the Uruguayan referee in expletives. “The referee is a w$$$er,” roared the aggrieved supporters of the Three Lions. But nobody could have done anything about the decision. With Fifa’s dogged refusal to deliberate on the introduction of video replays to assist on-field officials, such contentious decisions will be part and parcel of football. The Germans will only be happy to say that Hurst’s goal had been cancelled out.