Is God an Englishman? England at the World Cup

Frank Lampard's disallowed goal at World Cup 2010 was probably seen as just desserts by many Germans even if they had to wait a long time. For those of you who've forgotten - or just want to see it again - here's what happened:

While England's frustration is palpable Germans with long memories will be able to remind England of Geoff Hurst. This goal sent England on their way to their first and only World Cup trophy. But was it a goal? Personally, I don't think so, but judge for yourself:

Having said that England did go on to score another, winning by 4-2 in the end so it might not have mattered that much. But the goal did come at a crucial time in the game.

But England have other grievances. In fact since Geoff Hurst's ahem... 'hatrick' in 1966 they have had other occasions to lament the absence of the 'all-seeing eye' where football refereeing is concerned. Perhaps the most famous being Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal 20 years later:

So is it a case of what comes around goes around? Is God acting in a cunning way, using referees as his intermediary to balance out the universe? Probably not!

Football fouls and f*ck-ups

Day 17 of the World Cup and one almost feels sorry for England. At least now they know how the Irish must feel though no-one can argue with the four goals Germany put passed them.

Then what about Argentina vs Mexico? First goal definitely offside. Of course it's easy to blame the referee. We armchair critics have the benefit of technology, including instant replays to spot the gaffs.

But wait a minute? What if referees had the benefit of the same technology? After all, they have assistants running the touchlines. Supposing they also had assitants in the stands, scrutinising events on close circuit TV? Someone ought to tell FIFA about this revolutionary new idea.

And while we're waiting for that lot to come to terms with the obvious, please feast yourself on this selection of bad refereeing decisions from World Cup 2010.