Match officials under fire over disallowed 'goal' in Edinburgh derby

EASTER ROAD boss Pat Fenlon and hitman Leigh Griffiths were left frustrated after the latter's super strike was wrongly ruled out.
Leigh Griffiths' controversial effort beats Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald Leigh Griffiths' controversial effort beats

HIBS ace Leigh Griffiths was gutted last night after TV pictures proved his “goal” against Hearts was a yard over the line.

The Easter Road striker had a go at referee Euan Norris and assistant Raymond Whyte, who got it blatantly wrong by ruling out his strike against the Jambos.

Griffiths hit a brilliant free-kick that crashed off the bar and bounced in, only to see the officials award a corner instead of a goal after Andy Webster headed the ball over when it came back out.

And afterwards he revealed that even Hearts players knew his effort had crossed the goal-line.

After being denied a derby winner by a shocking decision, the 22-goal front man said: “I spoke to Hearts’ Andy Webster and he told me it was a yard over the line.

“I looked at the linesman’s position and he was standing on the edge of the 18-yard box. But the ref said he was in line with the last defender.

“I spoke to him nicely, ran over and asked if he had to look at his position. But he kept saying he was in line with the last man.

“In the second half we gave Hearts a bit of a doing and were unlucky not to get the goal.”
Video: Five 'ghost goals' to rival Leigh Griffiths' Edinburgh derby strike

Hibees gaffer Pat Fenlon was equally frustrated at the officials’ decision and believes his side have been the victims of some woeful refereeing in recent weeks.

A fortnight ago, a penalty was awarded against his team despite TV replays ?showing that Ryan McGivern had fouled Dundee United’s Gary Mackay-Steven outside the box.

And last week, during their 4-2 Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock, another harsh penalty went against Hibs when Lewis Stevenson was judged to have tugged Paul Heffernan.

Fenlon insists referees must get crucial decisions right because it’s costing clubs points and cash. After yesterday’s goalless draw against the Jambos, he said: “I thought from the reaction of Leigh and how he celebrated that it was a goal.

“But we had an equally bad decision against Dundee United recently. That’s four big points that we’ve lost rather than dropped. So I’m desperately disappointed with that decision today.

“I won’t hammer referees but they should be coming out and explaining why these decisions are given. Those two could prove very costly to us and I said that to the referee at the end.

“It can cost league placings and money so there’s a lot at stake. If it’s a case where it’s close to the line, okay. But this was nearly at the back of the net – plus the ball was yellow which is easier to see.

“It was a fantastic strike from Leigh and I don’t know whether the linesman bottled it or whether he’s just not in line. The ref told some of the players that if he’s not sure he can’t give it.

“But once he looks at it again I’m sure he’ll change his opinion.”

Fenlon is adamant the SFA must now look at introducing goal-line technology.

He said: “When you look at the? possibility of what it could cost clubs, the SFA has to weigh it up and see where the balance is.

“I think we’ve taken too much away from referees and they should be allowed to officiate the game. But this is one area, because a goal makes a big difference, where something has to come in.

“The players are a bit deflated.”

Taken from the Daily Record