Graham Poll - Geoff Hurst, the Hand of God and the Biggest Rows in World Football

Well, here is a stunning and appalling revelation. He claimed that he did. Dotchev said he saw the handball but did not flag. It took him more than two decades to make that statement, but it is a breathtaking admission. In an interview in January 2007, Dotchev argued that, once the referee had signalled a goal, he could not intervene. His exact words were, ‘With the ref having said the goal was valid, I couldn't have waved my flag and told him the goal wasn't good—the rules were different back then.’

No, they were not. The rules—Laws actually, Bogdan—certainly did not prevent a linesman from signalling for an infringement. I don't doubt that FIFA's general instructions to linesmen included telling them to allow the refs to referee. I imagine as well that on the day of the quarterfinal referee Ali Bennaceur would have told the two linesmen—Dotchev and Berny Ulloa Morera from Costa Rica— to let him make the key decisions. But nothing in the instructions or the Laws of the Game then or now absolves the linesman of responsibility. If he saw a handball such as Maradona's, and the referee did not see it, he had a duty to signal.

Note that in 1986 there was no attempt to use officials with a common language. That came later, but it was not the issue. Whatever language you speak, if you spot a handball, you flag for it. It is much more significant that this was before specialist assistant referees were introduced at World Cups. Referees shared the task of running the line. You need to know, as well, that referees are competitive and can be resentful when others get the appointments they expected or desired. With that background, read some more of the comments made by Dotchev about that day in 1986. He said, ‘European refs take charge of at least one or two important games per month and are used to big-match pressure. What is there for Bennaceur to referee in the desert where there is nothing but camels?’

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