IMO the ball is in the net. but it is not a GOAL. both the referre and the Linesman are out of position to make a 100% certain call, therefore until the ref decides that it is a goal it not a goal. Move on. Everyone realises the only reason this is still a big issue is that it happened to Benfica. I'm SUre that if it was Beira Mar, Academica, Sp. Braga. we would of mentioned it a couple of times and moved on.
This is a no win situation. Porto fans will ALL say it wasn't a goal...Perspective this, angle that. Bla bla bla. Benfica fans will scream that we were robbed. I'm not even gonna bother because nobody wants to look at this objectively. The only thing I will say is that was the worse officiating I've seen in a long time.
Wrong any team can ask to go to the video replay in the NHL. but if the call goes against them then they may be assessed a delay of game. Also the request to go upstairs must be made before the puck is dropped.
It's perfectly normal that this is only happening because it was Benfica. Same thing would've happened with Sporting or Porto. The other teams don't even get 2,000 people to watch their games, I doubt that there would be a big uproar among them.
Good point about the shadows, but that particular picture makes it look like it's in. A better view from above would eliminate any doubt. Maybe it's time for netcams like they use in the NHL: Since there aren't as many goals in football, I don't see why they don't use video replay. It's annoying in hockey but I think it would be fine for soccer, since there aren't many occasions where a review would be needed.
So, the ball magically stays there floating until Baia can get his hand to it? In this crazy world there is a thing called physics. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. I can garauntee you in the next frame of the picture the ball is completely over the line in the glove of Baia's hand who knocks it back out. Why? Because, well, an object, in this case the ball, moving forward will tend to stay moving forward. How hard is that to understand? It was a goal. It was hard to tell with the naked eye. The officials couldn't tell. They decided it was no goal. That's all there is to it. What's so wrong about having Instant Replay to judge circumstances like this and ONLY CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE THIS AND NOT ANY OTHER ASPECT OF THE GAME?
Actually O JOGOis owned by Olivedesportoes, which is owned by the Oliveira Brothers which controls most on the soccer in Protugal and very close friends of PC. They always defend Porto
Am I the only one that finds this absolutely ridiculous. Here you go the two top Teams in Portugal, and all that the supporters are crying about is poor little old me we are so picked on and all the chips are stacked agains us nobody defends us BLah blah blah. I believe that the conspiracy theorists would have a hey day with this.
Somebody mentioned O Jogo as being pro-Porto? What about every other paper in Portugal that show their support of Benfica without shame? There's bias in the media no matter which part of the World you are in, but you gotta admit that picture of the goal in question was pretty strong evidence that it was not a goal. Anyway this is becoming a dead issue. I'm moving on.