Crystal Palace Make Case for Technology

Every so often shouts of conspiracy thrust the debate for goal line technology back into the football spotlight. Today those shouts emanated from Championship club Crystal Palace.

When it comes to incorrect goal decisions, this one’s a real howler. Usually it’s a case of a 20-yard bullet smacking the underside of the crossbar, bouncing over the goal line and spinning awkwardly out for a goal-kick. And in most cases you can even feel for the referee, as modern day football is played at such an incredible pace that it’s humanly impossible to keep up. But today’s ‘goal’ by Freddie Sears against Bristol City was none of that.

Receiving possession over the head of the final City defender, Sears advanced on the keeper and blasted the ball from close range, low and hard into the bottom left corner of the Bristol net. After wheeling off to celebrate his strike with his teammates, the referee deliberated with other match officials and ruled a goal-kick. The problem? The ball was so well struck it hit the back corner stanchion of the goal and bounced out, completely bamboozling the man in the middle. To make matters worse, Palace eventually lost the match 1-0, conceding in the 89^th minute and leaving the Londoners and their controversial owner Simon Jordan crying foul all the way down the M4.

Neil Warnock has a message for the ref

Palace manager Neil Warnock’s post match interview pointed the finger firmly in the direction of Bristol City management and players accusing them of cheating by pretending the Sears goal had not occurred.

While City will claim that they just played to the whistle, blame must be shared between the referees and the Bristol team. Both parties played a part in depriving Crystal Palace of a hard earned goal. Our only hope is that this incident, another case highlighting the frailties of the human eye, will not go unnoticed the next time football big wigs sit around drinking port discussing ways to improve the game.