Posted 07 January 2005 - 12:44 AM
Whats more it BOUNCED over the line. How clear does it have to be? It could only have been clearer if it had ripped the net out the back of the goal! You can bet that if it had been Scholes who'd done the same for Untied, the referee would have given it.
The decision explained:
An FA spokesman after the game absolved the linesman of any responsibility for the apparently mistaken decision not to award a goal to Spurs after a shot from the halfway line crossed the goal line by at least a metre.
"The shot came in from an unusual distance and as such caught the linesman out of position forcing him race back towards the goal as the play developed", explained the spokesman, "As he ran, the United scarf
he was wearing under his shirt came loose and fluttered up into his face
obscuring his view and preventing him from making the call. It was just
one of those things."
In response to further questions from the Press the spokesman explained
"If they don't already have a United tattoo most officials on game day
try to wear a scarf or a replica shirt under their regulation kit to show their support for the worlds greatest club. The linesman in this case had chosen to wear a United scarf, a common choice that is in
keeping with FA guidelines. The root cause of the problem lies not with
the linesman but with the players and management of Tottenham Hotspur
Football Club who broke one the most important unwritten rules of the English FA: They placed a shot on target at Old Trafford. Martin Jol is new to this country and perhaps he s not yet familiar with some of our finer traditions. If he doesn't yet understand that for the greater good of the game visiting teams, by tradition, are not expected to try to score at Old Trafford then our officials are in a position to help Mr Jol make that cultural adjustment."
Chuckling to himself the FA spokesman added "The goal had to be disallowed to avoid us descending down a slippery slope that would be bad for the national game. It's a fine line the officials have to walk.
If they award a goal this week, next week someone might expect to get a penalty or demand that Van Nistelrooy be booked for diving. Can you imagine? That would just never do. No no no. Shocking, just the thought of it."
O xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti têde; keimetha tois keinon rhémasi peithomenoi.