EARs Ineffective Again

Once again Additional Assistant Referees, or EARs, have shown themselves up by their ineffectiveness.

The following incident occurred during the UCL Round of 16 first-leg match between Celtic and Juventus on Tuesday 12 February 2013. The match finished 0—3; there were 6YCs.

In the 3', the whole of the ball crossed the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. Here are the freeze frames:

The goal was given to Juventus player Alessandro Matri (black 32) although it was not clear which match official actually saw the whole of the ball cross the goal line. The EAR did not give a signal, and media reports suggest it was the AR who made the call. However, it is not clear.

If the match officials are not 100% sure then they cannot give the goal. Perhaps in real time the true goalscorer was Juventus player Marchisio (8) who followed up and convincingly put the ball into the back of the net.

Former EPL referee Dermot Gallagher said:

"The problem for me is I don’t think there is any tangible evidence that they [EARs] do anything. But for a Juventus player [Marchisio (8)] following up a shot very, very quickly we could have had another Holocaust last night. I am convinced that the assistant and the guy on the goal line don’t know the ball is in."

HKRef is also convinced that the EAR and AR did not know the ball is in … although HKRef would not be so bold as to use the term "Holocaust" to describe such fallout incidents.

The match officials were:
Referee  Alberto Undiano Mallenco (ESP)
Assistant referees  Roberto Díaz Pérez del Palomar (ESP), Jesús Calvo Guadamuro (ESP)
Fourth official  Raúl Cabanero Martínez (ESP)
Additional assistant referees  Fernando Teixeira (ESP), César Muñiz (ESP)



Note: In this match, the amount of holding, pulling and blocking in and around the penalty area during corner kicks and free kicks was absurd. Remember, UEFA made the claim, without any real evidence, that the presence of EARs helps to reduce the amount of holding, pulling and blocking in and around the penalty area. How ridiculous. If match referees consistently do their jobs properly, then the amount of holding, pulling and blocking will drop because players would be afraid to give away penalties or free kicks at every corner kick.