Thursday, April 27, 2006

A Merky Decision

German ref Markus Merk sure has pissed a lot of people off in the past, but this just tops it off. His decision to disallow Shevchenko's goal last night meant that Barcelona have gone through to the finals of the Champions League. Nobody seems to understand why Sheva's goal didn't stand and looking at the replays, it's clear that there wasn't any foul committed. What does it have to take before video technology is introduced for big decisions like penalties and disallowed goals? It works in rugby so why can't it work in football?

In an interview I found from last year, Merk was asked "What's the worst decision you've ever made in a match?" to which he replied "There isn't really a big one. Plenty of small ones though because just as players and managers make mistakes, so do referees." Surely that's evidence enough to do something about it.









2 comments:

ginkers said...

Merk has always been a pompous wee ref and he proved it against Sheva. A lot has been made of the decision - and rightly so - but I think Milan lost the semi-final in the San Siro. They had enough good chances Gilardino's post, Sheva's header and Ambrosini's disaster to win that game. If you don't take your goals at the top level, you end up paying for it unfortunately.

aidanrad said...

Have to agree there, Barca looked like a team who knew they could stick in second gear for as long as they had to, but it was a bit of an odd decision. Could just about see the offence... just about...
Y viva, er, Barca...!