http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/13273?cc=5901 Something I found interesting and is good for some interesting discussion. As the author said, World Cup blunders will be it's own separate list so these are the worst blunders in club football, basically. Some very infamous decisions/non decisions on here. I think I agree with most of them on there, but I always think the Pedro Mendes "goal" at Old Trafford has always gotten way too much hype. I don't think it's that bad of a miss. I certainly don't think it should be number 2 on the list. I'm disappointed that Gantar's decision to blow for time as an attacker is about to roll the ball into an empty net deserves a spot on the list. For me, one of the worst calls ever. Simply inexcusable.
1990 European Cup semfinal 1st leg: Olympique Marseille 2-1 Benfica 2nd leg was goalless in the 83rd minute when this happened... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dsZn0C3FG3w#t=47 It was the only goal on the night so Benfica advanced to the final on away goals.
I don't think the ghost goal at #8 should be on that list. I just can't criticize a decision that nearly every single person in the stadium seemed to agree with until they saw the replay.
But it was really a very subtle hole, and from replays it almost looks like the shot may well have created the hole. You'd think somebody would give the net a more thorough check, but do you as a referee go and pull on every link? And certainly you couldn't call the goal back on account of finding the hole after it had gone in. I'll continue to chalk that one up as a freak accident.
I think we need to review what the word "decision" means. The original article uses the term "blunder", which is only apt after one views each instant replay. The Henry handball, for instance, wasn't seen; however it also wasn't "see-able" by the referees, who were in their appropriate positions.
For me, a true blunder (or poor decision) has to be something where you are 99% sure on the first viewing, without any replays, that the referee has got it completely wrong. For me, on that list, only #10, #9, #6 and #5 qualify. #4 deserves honorable mention, because the AR shouldn't need a replay from his position. #3, #2 and #1 are all bad and unfortunate, but you can't 100% expect the officials to get those right given their positions on the field. The one described in #7 doesn't have a video link. It's here and I'd argue it should be a candidate for the top spot: Though it would probably finish second to this one, which I've never been able to comprehend:
Oh for crying out loud get over it. The ball wasn't anywhere near the goal yet, and the team in possession was already winning the game.
I don't know how they missed this one in the list....even the referee admitted he made a mistake. Here's the situation Everton-Liverpool with Graham Poll as referee. 2) Don Hutchison’s ‘goal’ (April 2000) Later that season the return game at Goodison was deadlocked at 0-0 going into injury time. Westerveld looked to take a free-kick quickly just outside his own area but saw the ball rebound off the back of Everton forward Don Hutchison and roll into the net. Everton fans and players celebrated, but the joy quickly turned to despair when referee Graham Poll disallowed it. At first he claimed Hutchison was too close the ball when the free kick was taken before later indicating that time was up and the match was already finished. Replays suggested Poll blew his whistle after the ball had gone into the net, contradicting those claims. A decade later in his autobiography Poll conceded that he got that decision wrong and Everton were robbed of a perfectly good goal. ► 0:36► 0:36 www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-GHqqI6nUA
It doesn't matter, he showed zero common sense and the ball was near the 18. Just an awful decision. I'm not gonna go into why it was so bad again, but it's a bad decision.
The Gantar wave off is at At 8:40 of this video: http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-07-27-DC-v-NE/highlights I remember at the time I wrote on this board that it was the craziest call I'd ever seen...but I meant "in person." I think the ESPN clips of ball boys sneaking balls into the net and such are obviously more flagrant that this. An interesting, but unedifying idea would be the 10 craziest calls in MLS. I have a guess it would be less phantom goals and more of the crazy karate stuff of the early years.
Can someone explain to me why Gantar disallowing that goal was so controversial? Did the team lose some important cup or playoff seeding by 1 goal on goal difference? Did the attacker lose a huge contract because he scored one less goal on the season? Did the winning team miss out on some golden opportunity to embarrass their rivals with 1 extra goal?
I was expecting something like FIFA World Cup awards, or IFAB and pick-your-"favorite" LOTG changes. At least one.