10 Terrible Refereeing Decisions That Changed World Cup Games
4. Germany Vs. England (2010)
England fans still cringe when they think of this one. Frank Lampard's "ghost goal" at the 2010 World Cup has gone down in history as one of those "What if?" moments, with fans still talking about the incident years later. Everyone has their opinion on what might have happened had the goal stood, but we can all agree that it definitely should have been given.
The Three Lions had limped into the knockout stages and were pitted against Germany. The likes of John Terry and Stephen Gerrard talked a good game in the buildup to the match, but it started terribly, with Klose and Podolski putting the Germans 2-0 up after 32 minutes. But then, England seemed to find a way back into it!
Matthew Upson's face scored a goal in the 37th minute and Frank Lampard equalised just two moments later. Except, he didn't actually equalise. The ball hit the crossbar, bounced into the goal, a good yard over the line, before bouncing back out. Everyone watching at home saw the goal, but the ref and his linesman didn't. The game finished 4-1 to the Germans, but if England had gone in at halftime with the score at 2-2, who knows what could have happened?