England 1 Germany 4

Mangaung/Bloemfontein Sunday June 27 16.00 SA Time – England 1 Germany 4 (Upson, 37’; Klose, 20’, Podolski, 32’, Muller, 67’, 70’)

How it is possible that the refereeing team at this level cannot see a perfectly legitimate goal (which would have drawn England level on 2-2) defies logic. Today at Bloemfontein there wasn’t a soccer match; there was a circus and the clown was the refereeing team led by one Jorge Larrionda. Their ineptitude had a direct bearing on the result.

Ozil showed how dangerous he and Germany can be on 5’ – shot saved by James. On 20’, a goal kick from Neuer found Klose. 1-0. On 26’, a weak shot from Barry was easily held by the German keeper and after 32’, 2-0, Podolski. England came back into the game. Neuer made a good save from Lampard on 35’. 37’ Upson scored the 2-1 converting a cross from Gerrard; on 38’, England’s second goal, scored by Lampard, was ruled not to have crossed the line by the refereeing team.

After the break, England came out hungrily looking for their third goal (the second for this referee). On 52’, Lampard his the post; on 55’, Gerrard’s shot was saved. As England pressed forward, they left themselves open to counter-attacks, which Germany took advantage of in lethal fashion in a three-minute period between 67’ (3-1) and 70’ (4-1) both goals scored by Muller.

England tried to come forward, Gerrard and Lampard seeing their shots saved on 80’ and 88’. The bottom line is that the referring team’s incapacity to manage a game at this level dictated the way the game would run.

When is FIFA going to use technology, as in tennis, to see if a ball has crossed a line, given that the referees it chooses are incapable of performing the task?

England: James, Johnson (Wright-Phillips), Ashley Cole, Gerrard, Terry, Lampard, Rooney, Barry, Upson, Milner (Joe Cole), Defoe (Heskey)

Germany: Neuer, Friedrich, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Ozil (Kiessling), Podolski, Klose (Gomez), Muller (Trochowski), Lahm, Mertesacker, Boateng

England

England 1 USA 1

England 0 Algeria 0

England 1 Slovenia 0

England 1 Germany 4

Scorers Steven Gerrard (4m) fastest goal of the tournament, Defoe, Upson

Germany

Germany 4 Australia 0

Serbia 1 Germany 0

Germany 1 Ghana 0

England 1 Germany 4

Scorers Podolski (2), Muller (3), Klose (2), Cacau, Ozil (Alemanha)

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY

PRAVDA.Ru