This world cup has witnessed several refereeing howlers. The situation has been such that FIFA has been forced to reconsider introducing technology in football games. Here is my list of 5 biggest refereeing howlers:

1)  THE GOAL WHICH WASN’T:  England were trailing 1-2 and they started pressing matters. Suddenly a superb lob from Lampard hit the crossbar and fell way behind the goal line but bounced and spun back in front of the goal .With each and every supporter in the stadium clearly seeing that it was a goal, the linesman somehow managed to rule it out. The after effect has been so grave that FIFA are seriously considering introducing goal line technology.

A disallowed goal, reminiscent of a 1966 incident,lowered England's morale

Germany vs England: A disallowed goal, reminiscent of a 1966 incident, lowered England's morale, and they could not come back into the match

2) THE CONFUSING OFFSIDE TRAP: Mexico started the game on a positive note and started pressing matters. The game was even and the score was locked at 0-0 when a Lionel Messi strike found Carlos Tevez in an offside position (almost a metre offside) who guided the ball into the goal. Furious protests ensured but the referee and the linesmen did not budge. The Mexicans lost the plot and exited the world cup.

3) THE GHOST GOAL: USA came back from two goals down to level the game at 2-2. They started looking for the winner. Then came the moment which puzzled players and people alike. A superb free kick from London Donavan found an unmarked EDU who coolly slotted home the winner. But the referee blew his whistle, not for an offside but for an incident which did not happen. There was no fouling in the penalty box and repeated claims of a goal by the Americans fell on deaf ears.

4) KAKA RED CARD: Kaka received a red card due to play acting from an Ivory Coast player. This incident brought condemnation from all fans towards the referee who earlier behaved like a novice while awarding a goal to Luis Fabiano which he had handled.

5) TIM CAHILL:  Another red card which was hardly given. A slight tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger of Germany gave the referee no choice but to furnish a straight red card instead of a yellow one. Tim Cahill later said that “it was obvious on the part of Schwein to play act a little. That is football.”

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