VIDEO SPECIAL: The five worst refereeing decisions in footballing history

03 November 2009 16:44
Referees Lee Mason and Mike Jones will spend this weekend on the nch as fourth officials are getting more wrong than right in the eyes of Premier League chiefs last weekend.[LNB]Mason sent off Liverpool Jamie Carragher and Philipp Degen during the 3-1 defeat at Fulham while Jones red-carded Hull's Geovanni and awarded Burnley a soft penalty during their 2-0 defeat of the Tigers at Turf Moor.[LNB]But let's not start branding modern days refs as the worst ever and get all dewy-eyed about the good old days when the man in black was never wrong.[LNB] Slightly over the line: But Rob Lewis failed to award a goal after Roy Carroll fumbled a 50-yard Pedro Mendes shot at Old Trafford[LNB]Keep your flag down: Sir Alex Ferguson ensures linesman Ray Lewis makes the right decision after Pedro Mendes' shot[LNB]Referees have always and will always make mistakes very much like the multi-million-pound striker missing an open goal, keeper fumbling a shot over the line, defender failing to make a routine tackle or highly-rated midfielder unable to pass the ball more than five yards.[LNB]Nobody's perfect and Sportsmail decided it was high time to look back over some howlers of yesteryear.[LNB]That Pedro Mendes 'goal' for Spurs at Manchester United in 2005, Geoff Hurst's third for England in the 1966 World Cup Final, David Elleray denying Chesterfield a place in the 1997 FA Cup Final by wrongly ruling out Jon Howard's strike, Russian referee Miroslav Stupar ruling out a good goal for France in the 1982 World Cup because Kuwait thought they heard a whistle and stopped playing - then threatened to to take the ball and go home if it wasn't disallowed.[LNB]The list is endless and some really high-profile errors are in Sportsmail's terrible refereeing decisions, such as Graham Poll's three-card trick at the 2006 World Cup and Clive Thomas ending play a second before Brazil scored v Sweden in 1978.[LNB]But this latest list nearly all resulted in goals and goals pay the rent. And goals pay the rent as we all know.[LNB]They can also get you evicted...[LNB]The Phantom Goal of Stuart AttwellMatches don't come much bigger than Watford v Reading but when they clashed in the Championship last season, young ref Stuart Attwell made the news for all the wrong reasons when he awarded a goal to Reading despite the ball not crossing - or even threatening to cross - the Watford line. [LNB]Eagle-eyed linesman Nigel Bannister spotted a shot went past the post by a few feet and heralded a goal. Young pup Attwell, who had at no stage shown any intention of giving a goal, then did so. [LNB]My, how Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd laughed. My how he laughed more when he sent to the stands for complaining. My, how that laughter turned to hysteria seven weeks later when he was sacked by WatfordVIDEO: It's wide so it must be a goal[LNB][LNB]The original goal that never wasWith jumpers for goalposts you expect areas of debate but there was no real excuse for Roy Capey's decision to award Chelsea's Alan Hudson a goal when his shot hit the outside of the net at Stamford Bridge in 1970. [LNB]The ref looked well placed, Hudson did not celebrate and Ipswich looked to restart play with a goal kick in accordance with the laws of the game. Capey had other ideas and gave Hudson a goal for trying leaving Tractor Boys boss Bobby Robson seething as they lost the match 2-1.VIDEO: Hudson doesn't miss those - except when he does[LNB][LNB]The Tinkler-man who grabbed the title from Don RevieIn April 1971, one month before Arsenal clinched the Double, Leeds United were racing certs to win the League. [LNB]But West Brom turned up at Elland with a point to prove and snatched a 2-1 win with a goal that looked offside twice. Firstly, Colin Suggett was yards offside in the days long before 'phases' played a part. Back then offside was offside. [LNB]However, Tony Brown was allowed to stroll through as the Leeds defence stood statuesque before passing to a very offside-looking - and smirking - Jeff Astle to score.[LNB] Leeds lost the title by a point. Leeds fans invaded the pitch in fury. Don Revie implored the linesman to put right the wrong and get ref Ray Tinkler to change his mind. But all to no avail. [LNB]Everyone's second-favourite team had lost the title and just 38 years later would be starting a third successive season in the third tier of English football.VIDEO: Nobody likes seeing Leeds at the wrong end of rough justice...[LNB]The Hand of GodDiego Maradona will never die of thirst in Scotland after his deft punch helped knock England out of the World Cup in 1986. [LNB]The ref failed to spot a dwarf outjumping big Peter Shilton and guiding the ball home with his hand. Enough saidVIDEO: The least convincing post-match dubbed commentary of all time[LNB][LNB]The dodgy World Cup?South Korea had more than a rub of the green when they hosted the finals in 2002 and saw off Italy. In the quarter-finals they played Spain and were largely on the back foot.[LNB]They were helped by some pretty scandalous officiating, matters reaching a head when two goals were wrongly ruled out before the Koreans won on penalties. Poor old Fernando Morientes...VIDEO: The whole of the ball must cross the whole of the line - you decide...[LNB]  GRAHAM POLL: Record nine red cards show inconsistency in refereeing... just ask Liverpool and Aston VillaVIDEO SPECIAL: Sportsmail's guide to the worst refereeing decisions ever made EXCLUSIVE: Red-card refs Lee Mason and Mike Jones axed while 'Phantom Goal' official Stuart Attwell gets a game at Manchester CityFernando Torres flies out as Rafa Benitez risks throwing his injured Liverpool star into the Lyons denEXCLUSIVE: Cash-strapped strugglers Hull City blew £5.5m on agents [LNB][LNB]  Explore more:People:Geoff Hurst, Stuart Attwell, Ray Lewis, Graham Poll, Fernando Morientes, Alex Ferguson, Diego Maradona, Clive ThomasPlaces:Leeds, Kuwait, South Korea, Spain, Scotland, United Kingdom, Italy, Brazil, France

Source: Daily_Mail