ROCHDALE were awarded a bizarre ghost goal in their League Two clash with Walsall which left their opponents fuming.
The EFL’s basement boys are in desperate scrap for survival but managed to put four past out-of-form Walsall on Good Friday.
But with the Dale 3-2 up, midfielder Ethan Brierley attempted to grab a fourth with an ambitious lob on Owen Evans.
And while the Walsall keeper made a bit of a mess of gathering the ball, he did manage to collect it before the ball went over the line.
But the assistant referee stunned fans as he flagged to signal a goal.
The incident was one of a few that went against the visitors but it has proved to be particularly controversial after video footage circulating on Twitter confirmed the ball did not cross the line.
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Walsall boss Michael Flynn did not hold back after watching his side fall to a 4-2 defeat at Spotland.
He said: “For Rochdale’s fourth goal you’ve got an official waving his flag to signal it’s crossed the line despite him being 15 yards behind the play.
“It’s a guessing game. They aren’t fit enough to be professional officials and something needs to happen in the game.
“There’s enough money in the Premier League to get some full-time referees because it’s not fair on these officials – they know they’re not up to it.
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“It’s not fair on them, on supporters, on managers and on the referees either because they are swimming against the tide.”
The win for Rochdale means that caretaker boss Jim McNulty has recorded back-to-back wins.
It’s the first consecutive league victories for the Manchester-based side since October.
They remain bottom but are now only six points from safety with six games to go.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
