The “Goal-that-did-not-count” will be the most talked about incident at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. England is now eliminated after losing 4-1 to Germany in what could be the most controversial game ever.
2 Foot Farce
Bouncing Back
The infamous “non-goal” came just after England had scored to make it 2-1 just before halftime. English striker Frank Lampard took a long shot from outside the 18-yard-box, the ball hit the crossbar and came straight down 2 feet past the goal line… GOAL!
Wrong… the ball bounced with a spin and instead of going back into the netting, it bounced back out of the net onto the goalie making it look like it had never crossed the goal line. The goal should have tied the game 2-2, and the result of the game could have been much different.
Replay Robbery
After the goal was disallowed and play went on, the large video screen at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, showed the replay in super-slow-motion. 40,000 fans watched the screen and a huge roar came from the crowd when the replay showed the ball coming down across the goal line. England was robbed! The players had all then realized it. Even the referees must have realized it. A crucial goal had been disallowed.
Lost Linesman
It was in!
You could see it in the eyes of the English players… they were tense and nervous about the situation. As play resumed, you could feel that there was a huge debate coming. Sure enough, when the ball went out of bounds the English players swarmed to the linesman on the sidelines to ask him if he had seen the ball cross the goal line. The linesman is on the side of the field and he has the best angle to see if the ball goes into the net. Of course, he denied seeing the ball go past the line, and play went on with the score Germany 2 England 1.
Another Mistake???
No Mo Dafoe
If it couldn’t get any worse for England, the video replay also shows that Germany’s first goal was offside. This wasn’t discovered until the halftime show, where the broadcasters were saying that the score should actually be 2 – 1 for England.
Drive of Desperation
Sickness Setting In
As the game proceeded with Germany up by a goal, England became more desperate to tie the game. As England grew more desperate, the Germans were able to score 2 more goals easily as England’s defense were playing too offensive-minded.
Video Replay Required!
England Fan
If video replay had been used in this game, England might have won this game. Video replay is the obvious answer to making the game fairer. Maybe this will be the very incident that makes FIFA change their rules to allow video replay to decide if the referee has made a mistake.
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