Football without a referee is impossible. But because people make mistakes, referees do too. However, some wrong decisions have gone down in history - these are the top 10.
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- At the European Football Championship in the summer, an alleged handball by Spain's Marc Cucurella against Germany caused uproar.
- UEFA has since admitted that it was a wrong decision.
- Mistakes by the referees are part and parcel of football - but the most grossly incorrect decisions have gone down in history.
Two and a half months after the European Championship quarter-final between Germany and Spain , UEFA has apparently conceded that the penalty that was not awarded following a handball by Spain's Marc Cucurella was a wrong decision.
The fact that Cucurella's handball was not penalized mainly caused a stir because the video assistant did not intervene. Before the introduction of VAR, blatantly wrong decisions were made time and again. We have collected the top 10.
Maradona's hand of God
One of the most famous goals in football history is also one that could only have been scored due to a hair-raising mistake by the referee. Diego Maradona's famous "hand of God" at the 1986 World Cup against England was self-explanatoryly irregular and should never have counted.
Geoff Hurst's Wembley goal
The most famous goal that was actually a non-goal: England became world champions in 1966 because Geoff Hurst's shot bounced on the line but was awarded as a goal by the referees. England become world champions for the only time.
Lampard's goal does not count
The revenge for the Wembley goal came at the 2010 World Cup. Germany was leading 2:1 against England when Frank Lampard scored the supposed equalizer with a long-range shot. The ball goes off the crossbar and behind the line, but the referees see things differently. In the end, Germany won the round of 16 4:1, but were then eliminated in the semi-finals by the eventual world champions Spain.
The phantom goal
In April 1994, Bayern's Thomas Helmer scored one of the most famous non-goals in football history. The defender poked a ball well wide of the goal in a match against 1. FC Nürnberg. But linesman Jörg Jablonski saw the ball in the goal. Referee Joachim Osmers - who later received death threats - was convinced and awarded the goal.
Nuremberg lost the game 2:1, but because the error was so blatant, a replay was scheduled. Bayern won it 5:0 and became champions, while Nuremberg were relegated at the end of the season - one point in the match against Bayern would have been enough to prevent relegation.
Kiessling's ghost goal
Like Thomas Helmer, Leverkusen's Stephan Kiessling also scored a phantom goal in the Bundesliga. In October 2013, the striker headed a ball into the back of the net against Hoffenheim. However, as there was a large hole in the net, the ball landed in the goal and the goal actually counted.
The "hand of the frog"
In the play-offs for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, a memorable scene occurred in November 2009. In the 104th minute of extra time in the second leg, France needed a goal to prevent the upcoming penalty shoot-out. After a cross, Thierry Henry obviously controls the leather with his hand and then sets up William Gallas' goal. Referee Martin Hansson does not see it. France go to the World Cup (where they embarrass themselves and are eliminated with one point), Ireland have to stay at home and are furious. The Irish Sun headlines: "The Hand of Frog" - "the hand of the frog". This is a reference to the British swearword for the French.
Offside Schalke against Basel
In December 2013, FC Basel play Schalke away from home in the Champions League. It is the direct duel for a place in the round of 16. Basel need a point, Schalke need a three-pointer. The Germans take the lead through Julian Draxler, then Joel Matip makes it 2-0 in the 57th minute - a goal that should never have counted due to offside. Several Schalke players were clearly offside from the free kick. Schalke win the game 2-0 and advance to the round of 16, but are eliminated by Real Madrid with an aggregate score of 2:9.
Pedro Mendes for Tottenham against Manchester United
In 2005, Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll allowed himself to make a major mistake against Tottenham. A Tottenham clearance from Pedro Mendes in his own half slipped through the keeper's hands. The ball clearly sails behind the line, but the linesman decides that the ball was not in the goal. The Premier League match ends 0-0.
Referee blows the whistle twice too early in Africa Cup match
Referee Janny Sikazwe's watch was apparently ahead of its time at the Africa Cup 2022 in Cameroon. The referee from Zambia managed to blow the whistle twice too early in the match between Tunisia and Mali (0:1). After just 85:06 minutes, Sikazwe had seen enough of the game in Limbé and blew his whistle.
However, the players convinced him that he had made a mistake. After 89:45 minutes, however, the game was finally over. Sikawze was not impressed by the angry protests of the Tunisians, who were trailing, and left the pitch under the protection of security forces. The second over-time whistle is at least as puzzling as the first, as there had been plenty of reason for stoppage time. Mali midfielder El Bilal Touré was shown a red card in the 87th minute and the game was interrupted for a long time due to the video review.
Ironically, there was to be some kind of extra time in the end. As Mali coach Mohamed Magassouba was sitting in the press conference, he was informed by officials that the remaining minutes would be added on after all. The Mali players and referee Sikazwe gathered on the pitch again, but the Tunisians did not show up. After a short wait, Sikazwe finally blew his whistle.
Josip Simunic sees yellow three times
At the 2006 World Cup, a curious incident occurred in the group match between Croatia and Australia. The English referee Graham Poll shows the Croatian Jospi Simunic a second yellow card in the 90th minute, but fails to send the defender off. As a result, Simunic receives his third yellow card in the 93rd minute. This time Poll has had enough and sends Simunic off.
