 |
|
Spain: Real Madrid may try to get defeat overturned due to ref error [Tue Sep 20th, 2005]
Madrid (Reuters) - Real Madrid are looking into the possibility of getting their 1-0 defeat at Espanyol annulled after claiming the referee made an error before the goal.
Espanyol took the lead 22 minutes from the end of the Primera Liga game when Daniel Jarque headed in Ivan de la Pena's free kick.
But Real's players and coaching staff said referee Julian Rodriguez Santiago blew his whistle for an infringement in the area seconds before Jarque scored.
"The club believe there was an erroneous interpretation of the rules," said Real in a statement on their website. "When the referee blew his whistle, the actions that occurred afterwards were automatically deemed to be void."
Real, who are 15th in the 20-team table with three points from three games, claim video footage confirms the referee blew before the goal and that the soundtrack rules out the possibility of the whistle having come from the crowd.
The club's legal team are studying precedents from similar situations to see whether the result may be overturned and the game replayed.
Earlier this month FIFA declared the result of the Asian World Cup qualifying playoff first leg between Uzbekistan and Bahrain void and ordered a replay following a refereeing blunder.
World football's governing body ruled that Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida made a "technical error" in disallowing a converted Uzbekistan penalty and subsequently awarding Bahrain a free kick, instead of ordering the penalty to be retaken because of encroachment.
Uzbekistan's 1-0 home victory has been wiped out. The two-legged tie will instead be played on October 8 and 12.
News headlines from around the world.