The last time I saw it happen in an international game, Joe-Max Moore scored what would have been a U.S. record fifth goal, in a 7-0 thrashing of El Salvador on Dec. 5, 1993.
The ball found its way through a hole in the net, however, and instead of the U.S. getting a goal, the referee — who didn’t see the goal — gave the Salvadorans a goal kick.
This time it was the Euro ’96 game between Bulgaria and Romania. In the 31st minute, with Bulgaria up 1-0, Romania’s Dorinel Munteanu rocketed a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced down into the goal before rebounding out. No goal, referee Peter Mikkelsen ruled.
Munteanu’s goal would have tied the score and changed the complexion of the game and, hence, the group, the most balanced of the four groups at Euro ’96.
Unlike much of the Romanian press, however, I can’t blame Mikkelsen. It happened so fast that it was difficult for even me, watching on TV, to tell whether the ball crossed the line. And I had an aerial view.
The replay clearly showed that the ball did cross the line. It isn’t likely that soccer referees can turn to the replay machine, like pro football officials have done, to review controversial decisions. Football has the luxury of breaking between every play.
There are ways, though, to rectify soccer’s goal-or-no-goal dilemma, at least in international tournaments.
At the very least, goal judges, whose sole job it is to determine if the ball has gone over the line, should sit behind each goal.
Better yet, other sports have come up all kinds of electronic devices to monitor movement. There’s no reason why soccer can’t find such a device that indicates whether the ball crossed the line.
It would be worth the cost to avoid the injustice that Romania had to face.
by Soccer America Associate Editor Poul Swain