SPAIN had a goal disallowed in the Under-21 Euros in bizarre circumstances after an apparent goalkeeper howler.
Rodrigo Riquelme had the simple task of rolling the ball into the back of an empty net after Ukraine stopper Ruslan Neshcheret dropped the ball.
Ukraine’s Ruslan Neshcheret dropped the ball kindly for Rodrigo Riquelme
Riquelme netted but it was disallowed
EPAThe match between Spain and Ukraine ended 2-2[/caption]
The Dynamo Kyiv star claimed a loose ball with ease and looked to start a counter-attack by rolling the ball out to his team-mates.
However, it seemed to fall from his grasp and hit the back of his own leg.
It feel kindly for Riquelme, who rolled it home only for the referee to chalk the goal off.
Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas gave a free-kick to Ukraine for a foul or obstruction on the goalkeeper to spare Neshcheret’s embarrassment.
There is no VAR or goal-line technology at the tournament so far hosted in Romania and Georgia.
VAR is set to come into play at the quarter-final stage, which begins on Saturday.
With the clash ending 2-2, both Spain and Ukraine have made the knockout stages and will hope not to suffer from any more strange refereeing decisions.
France and Italy will be desperate for the same after several controversial decisions in their encounter last Thursday.
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In the build-up to Les Bleus winner, many believed there was a foul missed by the referee.
Fans also thought Italy should’ve got a penalty when Pierre Kalulu appeared to handle it inside his own box.
There was also a “ghost goal” in the game when Raoul Bellanova scored an equaliser in the dying embers of the match.
However, the officials failed to notice the ball crossed the line and the goal wasn’t given.
Italy went on to lose 2-1 and boss Paolo Nicolato raged.
He said: “The impression I get is that the referees are used to using VAR; without it, they no longer know how to make decisions quickly.”
England will have technology in play for their quarter-final meeting with Portugal on Sunday.