The percentages of Luis Garcia watching Stevenage’s play-off clinching win on Saturday are slim – however he’d have had fun about their unbelievable 92nd-minute winner.
The previous Liverpool striker’s most well-known aim for the Reds – towards Chelsea within the 2005 Champions League semi-final – has been immortalised because the ‘ghost aim’. Did it cross the road? That is the query followers have requested for years.
Now Stevenage have a phantom strike of their very own in League One. Their controversial late winner has divided opinion amongst followers and induced a Luton City participant to blast the ‘stunning’ choice that value the Hatters a play-off spot.
In fact, there isn’t any aim line expertise in League One so the referee and his officers needed to make the tightest of on-field calls themselves.
Dan Sweeney was Stevenage’s Garcia, with a number of angles of the ‘aim’ not in a position to present conclusive proof that it crossed the road.
The duty was clear for the Stevenage gamers at kick-off – win to safe a spot within the play-offs and an opportunity to achieve promotion to the Championship.
Did Stevenage’s winner cross the road? Followers are calling it League One’s ‘ghost aim’
Sweeney’s controversial strike did simply that, sending a bought out Stevenage FC Stadium into delirium.
Because the ball appeared to cross the road, the house gamers appealed to the referee, with the goalkeeper making contact and sending it again out of the aim once more. It was Harvey White’s nook headed on by Carl Piergianni earlier than Sweeney made the essential contact.
The dramatic winner meant heartbreak for Luton City, managed by former Arsenal star Jack Wilshere.
They took care of enterprise by beating Bolton away 3-2 however wanted different outcomes, together with Stevenage’s to go their manner.
After the mud settled, Luton’s Ali Al-Hamadi raged on the ‘stunning’ choice that denied his facet a spot within the play-offs in a publish on X he has since deleted.
He wrote: ‘It is performed now and I strive to not speak about referees as a result of it is a tough job. However what a stunning choice.
‘You merely can’t make that decision should you’re not 100 per cent positive. Not when play-offs are on the road. Not when folks’s livelihoods and futures are on the road.’
Loads of followers on-line agreed that the ball was not totally over the road and no aim ought to have been awarded.
Luton participant Ali Al-Hamadi wrote the above publish on X earlier than deleting it
One wrote: ‘About time aim line expertise was launched in any respect ranges. A lot cash within the sport and so they nonetheless haven’t introduced this in. Surprising.’
One other posted: ‘But extra inept officers at an vital sport clearly the entire of the ball did not cross the road.’
A 3rd merely mentioned: ‘Ghost aim.’
