Real Madrid boss says 'I've never seen anything like this' after 'goal' not given due to ultra-rare incident
Silvia Cristobal (wearing number 4) got to the ball, which was travelling away from the penalty area, after Beth Mead had been blocked off (Image: ESPN/Disney+)
Silvia Cristobal (wearing number 4) got to the ball, which was travelling away from the penalty area, after Beth Mead had been blocked off (Image: ESPN/Disney+)
"Real Madrid went on to score, but in real time you can see the referee put the whistle straight to her mouth," he said. "As a consequence, you can even hear the whistle.
"I think it's one of those ones where it's almost like a free hit. You've had the shot, you can cause the... not controversy as such, but you can make an argument that almost distracts from what had been a, I thought, poor second half from Real Madrid.
"I think overall, the ref got the moment right. I don't really see that as being too controversial, to be honest.
"You can talk about whether it's the right call or the wrong call, but we're talking about her blowing the whistle, which she still did either way. We spend all this time going, 'play to the whistle, play to the whistle'. Well, this is the example on the other side, which should be followed as well."
"I do think it's the right call, because the position of the referee interferes so much with where Beth Mead is that she cannot pressure. So if the referee had been two metres away from where she was, we would not have seen this goal," former Netherlands international Merel van Dongen said.
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What IFAB laws say about Real Madrid 'goal' not given
Lawe 9 of IFAB's Laws of the Game states that, if a player from Team A (in this case, Real Madrid) passes the ball and it touches the referee outside the penalty area, but Team A start a 'promising attack' - which could be defined by the subsequent run and goal from Cristobal - then the match official should stop play and award a drop ball.
"In this case, play is restarted with a dropped ball for one player of the team that would have retained or gained possession if the ball had not touched the referee," the Law states.
"The ball is dropped at the position where the ball made contact with the referee."
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