The 10 worst referee decisions

All through the historical past of the sport, complaining about referees is the one fixed that supporters of each group can agree on.

As the sport has progressed, the officers in command of matches have come below increasingly more scrutiny, as managers, gamers and even pundits blame the referee for one thing they missed throughout a recreation or a name that was fallacious.

Referees are human and errors occur. With this in thoughts, now we have taken a have a look at a number of the worst refereeing errors.

10

Germany v England, 2010

Referee: Jorge Larrionda

England supporters, look away now. Referee Jorge Larrionda made a dreadful resolution to not enable Frank Lampard’s objective to face in opposition to Germany on the 2010 World Cup.

The conflict between England and Germany was a last-16 affair in South Africa, with the winners hoping to progress to the quarter-finals. With the Three Lions trailing 2-1, Lampard struck a shot which caught Manuel Neuer off guard, hitting the crossbar earlier than dipping over the road.

The gamers protested earlier than Germany scored one other two objectives to ship the English packing. It can go down as one of many worst choices in World Cup historical past.

9

Werder Bremen v Hannover, 1975

Referee: Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder

Maybe not as huge a mistake as others on this record, however Wolf-Dieter Ahlenfelder made a baffling resolution throughout his third Bundesliga recreation.

In a match between Werder Bremen and Hannover in 1975, the referee blew for half-time after simply 32 minutes, earlier than the linesman intervened. He solely made it to 43 minutes earlier than heading for the interval.

The rationale? He stated he drank schnapps and beer earlier than the sport, claiming “We’re males, we do not drink Fanta.”

8

Luis Diaz v Tottenham, 2023

VAR official: Darren England

Throughout a Premier League conflict between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in October 2023, VAR assistant referee Darren England made a serious error when he did rule out Luis Diaz’s objective, regardless of it being onside.

PGMOL launched the audio following the sport, happening to say that the error was a “lapse of focus and lack of focus”.

The Anfield aspect ended up shedding the match 2-1, ending it with simply 9 males on the sector too, and the choice drew the wrath of Jürgen Klopp, not one for shying away from calling out dreadful choices in matches.

7

Chelsea v Barcelona, 2009

Referee: Tom Henning Ovrebo

The second leg of the 2009 Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona will go down as a recreation referee Tom Henning Ovrebo received’t overlook.

He rejected 4 penalty calls in opposition to the Spanish aspect, then managed by Pep Guardiola, earlier than Andrés Iniesta scored a late objective to seal their place within the closing on the Blues’ expense.

“Some days you aren’t on the stage you need to be. I can not be pleased with that efficiency,” he later added after the sport. Inform that to the Chelsea followers.

6

South Korea v Italy, 2002

Referee: Byron Moreno

A sequence of dismal choices by Byron Moreno noticed Italy knocked out by South Korea within the final 16 of the 2002 World Cup, making him probably the most hated males in Italy.

The record of errors included sending off Francesco Totti for diving when a penalty ought to have been awarded, chalking off Damiano Tommasi’s objective for offside in further time and giving Hwang Solar-hong a yellow somewhat than a pink for a crunching problem, which he later admitted was the fallacious resolution.

Ahn Jung-Hwan netted the winner with 4 minutes left and was subsequently sacked by his membership aspect, Perugia. it is honest to say they didn’t take the objective too nicely.

5

Mali v Tunisia, 2021

Referee: Janny Sikazwe

The Africa Cup of Nations all the time tends to offer entertaining moments, however throughout the 2021 version, referee Janny Sikazwe made a reputation for himself.

Within the recreation between Mali and Tunisia, Sikazwe blew the full-time whistle within the eighty fifth and 89th minutes, a lot to the confusion among the many gamers, as they went to the dressing room prematurely for a second time.

They have been ordered to complete the sport, however Tunisia refused to return to the sector, with the consequence standing in probably the most weird moments within the historical past of the competitors.

4

Argentina v England, 1986

Referee: Ali Bin Nasser

Once more, extra anguish for England. In the course of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina, Ali Bin Nasser failed to note Diego Maradona scoring along with his hand.

He subsequently blamed his assistant for failing to identify Maradona sending the ball into the online along with his hand in what is usually known as the ‘Hand of God’ objective.

3

Chelsea v Arsenal, 2014

Referee: Andre Marriner

In direction of the tip of the 2013/14 season, Chelsea inflicted a harmful 6-0 defeat to Arsenal, however this wasn’t what will likely be remembered from the conflict at Stamford Bridge.

A penalty was awarded after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tipped Eden Hazard’s shot across the submit along with his hand, however as a substitute of him being despatched off, the referee despatched off teammate Kieran Gibbs. Marriner later claimed he was “disenchanted” to make such an error.

2

West Germany v France, 1982

Referee: Charles Corver

Patrick Battiston races onto a through-ball in opposition to West Germany throughout the World Cup semi-final in 1982, seemingly prepared to attain.

Seconds later, he’s mendacity on the ground having suffered three damaged enamel, cracked ribs and broken vertebrae after goalkeeper Toni Schumacher raced out to cease the Frenchman by any means doable, smashing into him with brute power.

A sending-off, certainly? No, referee Charles Corver missed all the incident, thus permitting the goalkeeper to play on. It stays one of many World Cup’s most scandalous moments.

1

Croatia v Australia, 2006

Referee: Graham Ballot

Throughout a recreation between Croatia and Australia on the 2006 World Cup, English referee Graham Ballot someway issued defender Josip Simunic three yellow playing cards, which ended any likelihood he had of refereeing the ultimate.

This evident error meant the Englishman needed to pack his luggage as he was despatched dwelling from the match, ruining his fame within the course of.

What a mistake to make when the eyes of the world are on you.