The Ghost (Goals) Of Seasons Past

Less than a year ago, officials in a Championship made one of the worst decisions in the history of football. I wrote this piece following the Watford / Reading Championship match in which a goal was awarded that never was.

Yesterday saw a similar situation, with Crystal Palace being denied a perfectly legitimate goal at Bristol City. The ball hit the stanchion at the back of the net, bounced out, and the three people in the ground who didn't see it were all wearing black. Unbelievable. Being robbed of a possible three points is bad enough, but how does that shot get recorded in the box-score? A shot off-target? It wasn't. I sometimes think these officials completely disregard the interests of investors.

This is not the first time Palace have been on the wrong end of a decision like this either. On 6 September 1980, Clive Allen took a free-kick from just outside the penalty area in a game at Coventry City. The ball flew into the goal, hit the the right-hand stanchion before bouncing back out with some force. The goal was not given, and Palace ended the season being relegated. Had the goal been given, we could have gone on to win the league. Well, maybe not, but decisions like these tend not to help.