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Mike Jones is not a name many people will recognise and after his blunder gifted Sunderland an unexpected 1-0 win over Liverpool, it’s a name we will probably no longer hear in top flight football.
For those of you who haven’t seen the incident, watch the video below and you’ll see what I mean.
I recently defended Sir Alex’s “outburst” which was at best a comment regarding the referees whom I normally praise and I’ll say it again, they have a very tough job enforcing some, oftentimes, very silly rules.
But surely if a bright red beach ball is sitting on the six yard line as a team breaks on the counter, a professional EPL referee would have to notice it?
Even if he doesn’t see it initially and his two assistants are also blind to the ball, then surely a volley which smacks into the ball and deflects in for a goal couldn’t stand?
The laws of the game indicate that such an incident, where a referee should have stopped play for outside interference (eg. A bright red beach ball on the six yard box), should result in a dropped ball. Instead it was a game winning goal for Sunderland which has seen Liverpool slip to 8th in the table, ironically one spot behind Steve Bruce’s Sunderland.
When a former referee comes out and blasts a current official’s performance then you know it was bad. Normally they stick together and show solidarity but this surely is one mistake too big to just condone or ignore.
So what now?
Benitez kept his cool regarding the incident although the fourth official had to step in later on when some heated words were exchanged between managers, however just because he didn’t comment on the issue and risk receiving a fine doesn’t right this wrong.
Football fans the world over accept refereeing mistakes as in the grand scheme of it, the football gods generally level them up. A penalty not awarded is evened out by a hand ball in the box going unnoticed or a goal kick that should have been a corner is compensated by a touch-and-go free kick.
But how is Liverpool to be compensated for this freak goal which – by the laws of the game which are in this case, not open to interpretation – should never have been counted?
The simple answer is, they won’t be.
Benitez was already struggling without Talisman Gerrard and the red-hot Torres. To then lose a game in this manner is a kick in the guts but it’s something he’ll have to accept.
Will Jones come out and apologise? Will the FA, the body in charge of these mistakes being upheld order a rematch? Both scenarios look unlikely, instead the incident will be played down, players and managers will refrain from commenting to avoid hefty fines and the FA will deal with this very quietly.
Expect the idiotic fan who hit the ball on to the pitch – after it appears a steward or a ball boy handed it back to him – to be banned and Mr Jones to be relegated down to a lower league, whether he returns to the top flight in a few weeks or ever again is open to debate.
I personally don’t think he should lose his career for this error, it was a huge mistake which changed a game, that is undeniable but he has two assistants and a fourth official on the sidelines who all could have raised the matter and failed to do so. Surely they are there as a team?
It seems to me that only a rematch will suffice as fair but don’t expect Steve Bruce to be a champion of fair play this week, three points against Liverpool are golden and he won’t be relinquishing them unless he has to and even then, you can expect resistance.
You won’t hear this often from a Man United supporter but after yesterday, I do feel sorry for Liverpool.
Beach Ball goal video
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