Before England’s let-off in midweek, Chelsea were beneficiaries this season against Tottenham Hotspur of an inaccurate call. FIFA President Sepp Blatter said yesterday that technology is now a ‘necessity’.
Sepp Blatter is finally coming into the 21st century; but isn’t it funny that a ‘goal’ against England has made him finally agree!
Below is a list of ‘goals’ that should or shouldn’t have been counted..
1966 – It is still unclear whether Geoff Hurst’s shot crossed the line for the third goal in England’s 4-2 World Cup final win over West Germany
2005 – Tottenham’s Pedro Mendes’ shot clearly crosses the line but Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll claws the ball away and play continues.
2005 – Jose Mourinho still maintains that Liverpool’s Luis Garcia’s ‘ghost goal’ that knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-final never crossed the line.
2010 – Frank Lampard’s shot crosses the line but is not given in England’s 4-1 World Cup defeat by Germany.
2012 – Mata is awarded a goal in Chelsea’s 5-1 FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham when the ball did not appear to cross the line.
So why has the head of world football taken till now to speak out?
I think it’s clear that he really has a dislike for England; after Lampard’s ‘goal’ in 2010 he said nothing was wrong with the game and it didn’t need changing.
May be he had a bet on the game and went for the draw! But while Blatter appears to be giving it a green light the UEFA President Michel Platini is not.
The Frenchman is in favour of having six match officials. But there was a goal line official at the England versus Ukraine that didn’t see that the ball had crossed the line.
But in fairness to the England team and even to the referee it was offside. The game is crying out for modern technology but I fear if and when Sepp Blatter steps down or is removed then Platini will be installed as the head of world football.
The problem then is you’ve got rid of one out of date president but replaced him with another younger model.
Whatever happens, goal line technology is needed in the modern game and the sooner the better!
images: © Brett Jordan, © klearchos
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