The most famous refereeing mistakes in football history

There is a belief that the history of the greatest matches and memorable sporting victories lies almost at the very origins of the sport.

In times when all the rules have not yet been achieved, teams have not yet mathematically learned to calibrate strategies, and there is still room for sports madness and adventure.

These matches give the most emotions and are more memorable for spectators. Nevertheless, teams with a well-established strategy and backup game plans achieve more success in modern football.

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Nevertheless, even if the coaching staff and the football team have perfectly planned the game, there is a conditional 23 player on the field, and that is the referee.

His decision can sometimes depend on the match, the title in the championship, and even the entire career of individual players.

The new football has become much more technologically advanced, and there is less and less room for refereeing mistakes.

However, referees can still influence the outcome of matches with their ambiguous decisions.

“Hand of God” – Diego Maradona, World Cup 1986

In history, Maradona entered not only as one of the greatest players. He is remembered as the author of one of the most unfairly credited goals, eventually known as “the hand of God.”

At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico in the quarterfinals between Argentina and England, Diego Maradona, at 51 minutes, broke into the opponent’s penalty area and finished with a shot.

Diego immediately ran to celebrate the header while the entire England team signalled to the referee that the goal was scored with Maradona’s left hand. Referee Ali Ben Nasser scored the goal without noticing the clear infringement of the rules.

The English players’ protests were ignored, and Argentina took the lead. Later, Maradona himself stated that the goal was scored with “a little bit of Maradona’s head and a little bit of God’s hand.”

This incident played a key role in Argentina’s victory in that match, which ended 2-1. This referee error has remained one of the most controversial moments in football history.

Frank Lampard’s Unassisted Goal – World Cup 2010

The following episode became one of the most offensive episodes for the England national team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and, in general, in the entire history of the football team.

It is worth saying that the episode that happened to the national team as a whole influenced the history of refereeing in football and the introduction of new technologies and systems to control refereeing errors.

But about everything in order. In the match 1/8 finals between England and Germany, Frank Lampard, at the end of the first half, immediately after the goal of his teammate, completed another successful attack that was to level the score in the match and make it 2:2.

On the video replay the goal was obvious. Still, the referee, Jorge Larriond, in the game moment did not risk to defend the blow.

As a result, the English did not equalize the score, and the match ended with a score of 4:1 in favour of Germany.

Subsequently, this moment became the catalyst for the introduction of Goal-Line Technology, similar to the out-control system in tennis, which was first used at the 2012 Club World Cup and then at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Goal-line technology allows referees to accurately indicate whether the ball has crossed the goal line, significantly reducing the number of such errors.

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Luis Garcia’s Ghost Goal – Champions League 2005

The 2005 Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea also keeps in mind one of the most discussed referee errors.

The situation was similar to Lampard’s goal from the previous example. Still, the difference was that the ball didn’t cross the goal line this time, but the referee counted the goal. That was counted for a goal by Luis Garci, which later became known as a “ghost goal.”

That match was part of Liverpool’s epic Champions League campaign, ending with them defeating Milan in the final.

To this date, however, it has not been clear whether the ball had crossed the goal line or not at that particular moment.

Unassigned Penalty in the 2005 Champions League Final

This Champions League final between Liverpool and Milan had to become one of the most dramatic finals in football history.

Milan won the first half 3-0, and it seemed then that the question of a cup winner had already been decided. However, Liverpool managed to equal the score in the second half.

This match also had the most controversial moment: a penalty was missed for a foul against Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

When Gerrard was fouled in the Milan penalty area, referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez did not see the foul or award a penalty.

South Korea vs. Italy, 2002 World Cup

The 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea was not only a brilliant performance by the hosts of this tournament but also the cause of many disputes concerning refereeing.

In the 1/8 finals match, South Korea vs. Italy, more than once, referee Byron Moreno brought the Korean victory due to many controversial decisions.

The most debated moment was the removal of Francesco Totti for alleged simulation in the penalty area; he was shown a second yellow, but from the replay, one could clearly see that the Italian striker was brought down in the penalty area.

Conclusion

In modern football, goal-line and VAR systems make referees’ work on the field much easier, and the number of errors has decreased many times. Nevertheless, the referee is always involved, and challenging his decisions is a part of the game.