Tottenham were victims of another goal line blunder in the FA Cup – Should the officials pay the ultimate price?
Star of television’s The Apprentice, Lord Sugar, is well known for his “You’re Fired!” catchphrase.
There is no doubt that if Wembley referee Martin Atkinson were appearing in his boardroom this morning, he would be receiving his P45.
He vented his feelings on Twitter yesterday after watching Chelsea be awarded a controversial second goal, which video replays showed did not cross the line.
@Lord_Sugar: “Total joke the ball was not over the line we have been cheated. Clear for all to see the ref should be fired and the linesman.”
He added after Spurs netted a consolation and Petr Cech was not carded for his role in bringing down Emmanuel Adebayor;
“Chech (sic) should have been given a red card? The Ref is useless the FA need to suspend him when they see a replay of this game.”
The famous Spurs fan may be accused of sour grapes, but after watching the infuriating decision his frustrations are understandable for any football fan.
Professional football has been crying out for goal line technology for the last decade, having seen the implementation of video technology in other sports including tennis, cricket and American Football.
There have been several shocking blunders over the years, which can even be traced back to Sir Geoff Hurst and 1966, and more recently Frank Lampard in the 2010 World Cup and Clint Hill for QPR against Bolton one month ago.
FIFA chairman Sepp Blatter has pledged to consider the technology, but it appears the World Cup in 2014 is the earliest we can expect it.
Should the Premier League blaze a trail and look at introducing it off their own backs next season? Many will say the time is right and we simply cannot wait any longer- to have these errors blighting our game.
Tottenham may have lost yesterday any way regardless, but thanks to the blunder we will never know what the outcome should have been.
As for Lord Sugar’s assertion the referee should be sacked- we want to hear what you think.
It is often impossible for the officials to assess the accuracy of the situation without replays- but this is not the first big error of Martin Atkinson’s season, think back to his Merseyside Derby sending-off of Jack Rodwell- later rescinded.
In a cruel twist for Spurs fans- Atkinson is due to go to represent England at Euro 2012 as an official. Should this decision count against him?
Video bloggers Winkball were outside Wembley last night gauging fan reaction from the match. See what supporters had to say here.
We want to hear your views.
image: © damo1977
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