Graham Turner draws line under that ‘goal’
Friday 13th May 2011, 11:29AM BST.
As the countdown to tomorrow’s trip to Torquay draws to a conclusion, the Shropshire Star today draws a line in the sand on the decision which condemned Shrewsbury Town to the play-offs.
The Shropshire Star has received a statement from the Professional Game Match Officials board in which they admit to the error of linesman Richard Wigglesworth.
He incorrectly ruled that Gareth Ainsworth’s effort had crossed the line to salvage a 1-1 draw for Wycombe at the Greenhous Meadow in March.
The phantom goal has provided a major talking point across the football world after proving crucial in helping Wycombe pip Town to a top three finish in League Two by one point.
The statement reads: “We have discussed the matter with Shrewsbury Town manager Graham Turner and it has been acknowledged that a mistake occurred with regards to the goal awarded to Wycombe Wanderers during their game against Shrewsbury.
“This was a case of human error and, subsequently, a full analysis of the incident took place with the assistant referee in an attempt to reduce the chances of such an error being repeated.”
Town boss Turner is now keen to look to the future rather than dwell on the past.
“We put a complaint in and we got a reply,” said Turner. “I won’t go into detail about it. I think they were embarrassed by the outcome of their enquiries.
“Nobody will ever understand why he gave that decision.
“But it’s long gone. We don’t feel sorry for ourselves and we are focused on making sure we are right for Torquay.”
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What puzzles me is what the linesman saw for him to award the ‘goal’. If the ball didn’t go over the line, he must have guessed that it did. But why guess? No one would blame the linesman if he had not given the goal – even if the ball had crossed the line. If he couldn’t or didn’t see it then say so. After all, there’s nothing to help him – the powers that be refuse to bring in goal line technology so what do you expect? Instead, his guess work just makes him look inept and prone to making ill judged decisions when the big calls need to made. This wasn’t a mistake by Richard Wigglesworth, it was a panicked random decision that has turned out to have had a huge bearing on a promotion issue. Therefore, to me, all that is proved is that he cannot be trusted to run the line.
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Well said, Lawrence. By this one single act Town may yet have to calculate the cost of not getting promoted. Goal line technology in this era is easy to secure and should be universal throughout the professional game, otherwise decisions like this one become a mockery. Can we count on the Shropshire FA to pursue the cause? Doubtful in spite of the fact that England were clearly denied a goal against Germany in the World Cup that might have turned that contest on its head. We need switched-on people in the FA to ensure that the home of football (England)stays ahead of the game, not trailing limply behind it.
True Blue Mike.
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This was a shocking mistake, the ball didnt go in, The Linesman got it wrong.. However, We finished 4th after 40+ games, the reason we finished 4th was because we were the 4th best team in the league, not because of 1 linesman… If you look at the “phantom” goal, there was 3 mistakes by town players in the 20second before the goal… Easy to balme officials, but first job should be to look at yourself…breath on em salop
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A line should have been drawn under the episode after Salop had missed those two great chances to win the game after the equaliser.
Over the course of the season the team have let leads slip through individual errors (Wycombe and Barnet both away)and a lack of concentration (Southend at Home).
We weren’t quite good enough and now it’s in the hands of the footballing Gods.
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I suppose it would be expecting too much for the league to award the points to Town, particularly as the official body has admitted the error. Let’s hope that we can be rid of Sep Blatter who seems to be stuck in the twentieth century and bring in some technology to ensure the corrct result in these matters. Why on earth football seems to stand alone on these issues mistifies me, both tennis and cricket use this, it would have taken less than 30 seconds to have determined that the ball did not cross the line. I would suggest giving each captain three referals a match, once they have been used they can have no more, what could be simpler?
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