nilesfunnies

Thursday, January 06, 2005

[nilesfunnies] Fw: FA explains United goal ruling



FA explains United goal ruling

An FA spokesman after the game
absolved the linesman of any
responsibility for the apparently
mistaken decision not to award a
goal to Spurs after a shot from the
halfway line crossed the goal line
by at least a meter.

"The shot came in from an unusual
distance and as such caught the
linesman out of position forcing him
to race back towards the goal as the
play developed", explained the
spokesman, "As he ran, the United
scarf he was wearing under his shirt
came loose and fluttered up into his
face obscuring his view and
preventing him from making the call.
It was just one of those things."

In response to further questions
from the Press the spokesman
explained "If they don't already
have a United tattoo most officials
on game day try to wear a scarf or a
replica shirt under their regulation
kit to show their support for the
worlds greatest club. The linesman
in this case had chosen to wear a
United scarf, a common choice that
is in keeping with FA guidelines.
The root cause of the problem lies
not with the linesman but with the
players and management of Tottenham
Hotspur Football Club who broke one
the most important unwritten rules
of the English FA: They placed a
shot on target at Old Trafford.
Martin Jol is new to this country
and perhaps he s not yet familiar
with some of our finer traditions.
Fortunately if he doesn't yet
understand that for the greater good
of the game visiting teams, by
tradition, are not expected to try
to score at Old Trafford then our
officials are in a position to help
Mr Jol make that cultural
adjustment."