Emmanuel Adebayor today claimed poor refereeing decisions are “killing” football after Tottenham were on the wrong end of Martin Atkinson’s howler in the FA Cup semi-final yesterday.
Referee Atkinson awarded Chelsea a goal, which put them 2-0 up, early in the second half, even though Juan Mata’s shot did not cross the line.
Chelsea went on to win 5-1 and end Tottenham’s hopes of a trophy this season but Spurs remain furious at the “phantom” goal. The Mata decision is the latest in a number of controversial refereeing calls this season and Tottenham’s on-loan forward Adebayor has had enough.
He said: “They have to make something happen because it’s killing the Premier League, it’s killing the FA Cup, it’s killing the game, it’s killing everything.
“I’m just tired of it and everyone is talking about goal-line technology. Also, how many goals have been disallowed this season for offside when, in fact, they were onside?
“We have to blame the referee for yesterday. He made a lot of mistakes and a lot of wrong decisions.”
The final phase of tests for goal-line technology will begin later this month before the International Football Association Board approve a system at their meeting on July 2.
FIFA are hopeful one of the systems will be ready for use at the Club World Cup in December in Japan.
