Peterborough United score – the referee can't see it

Something strange happened in the FA Cup at the weekend. The away team's goal was disallowed – despite the ball clearly crossing the line.

A goal scored by Newport City in Wales on Saturday afternoon caused considerable confusion for everyone involved in the game. Fourth tier AFC Newport County and third tier Peterborough United meet in the FA Cup, the most prestigious cup competition in English football. The outside players took an early 2-0 lead with two goals, but the visiting team narrowed the gap less than half an hour later.

And then it happened: Peterborough pro Jack Sparks' corner kick flew into the Newport penalty area. A player from the home team headed the ball but apparently didn't actually touch it. It landed right next to the goalposts of the Newport net.

Compensation? At least Sparks hesitated for a moment before raising his arms in celebration. His teammates ran to him and congratulated him on his goal. But the Peterborough players' celebrations didn't last long. Because: the referee doesn’t want to award a goal.

Referee Stephen Martin may not have seen the ball go into the goal in the normal way, but through the side netting – a view his linesman apparently agreed with. The two had a brief discussion on the sidelines. Martin then explained the situation to the confused Peterborough professionals. They no longer understand the world and argue with referees. But this doesn't help. Equalizer is not calculated.

Video recording reveals referee mistakes

Videos of the scene, which were apparently filmed from seats diagonally behind the goal, were later circulated on social media platform X. It can be clearly seen that the ball actually landed in the penalty area normally and passed through the inside of the goal post and into the net.

That's probably why Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson, son of Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson, said after the game: “It was a goal. The video footage shows that exactly.” The 52-year-old also called this goal a “hidden goal.” Ferguson also commented on the situation: “I think I felt the same way as everyone else in the stadium because it was a bit unreal and everyone stopped as if someone had pressed the pause button. Then we started celebrating. ”

But he didn't want to blame the referee afterwards. He didn't know “what he was supposed to do and the linesman didn't help him and he made a human error.” However, the former professional admitted: “If we had lost 2-1, there would have been more discussions , but I won’t use it as an excuse for us to lose the game.”

In the end, Ferguson didn't have to. Peterborough scored three goals in the second half to make the score 4-2. This took the club into the second round of the FA Cup. (abu/t-online.de)

For the first time since Yossi Tapora took over, SCB produced two outstanding performances within 24 hours and won in extra time for the first time this season. At the end of this development…the next SCB Championship celebration.

On September 1, 2023, Jussi Tapola suffered an embarrassment in the Bern Hockey Province, starting a long and arduous journey to the rainbow of glory. His first game against a National League team was in front of nearly 1,000 fans at Wislepark in Walb (where the “Blue Bähnli” is located), a 2:3 loss to the SCL Tigers. He created a metaphor (a visual language) that he has used ever since: “All the tools, but no toolbox.” (“All the tools, but no toolbox”).