Chelsea captain John Terry has admitted that their second goal against Tottenham in their FA Cup semi-final win should not have stood.
Chelsea skipper concedes referee got it wrong
Chelsea captain John Terry has admitted that their second goal against Tottenham in their FA Cup semi-final win should not have stood.
The Blues booked a final win thanks to a 5-1 win at Wembley, but with the game at 1-0 Juan Mata's shot was adjudged to have crossed the line.
But replays soon after showed that the Spaniard's shot was nowhere near crossing the line and should not have been given by referee Martin Atkinson.
"I thought Mata's strike hit me and didn't go over, but the linesman's seen it and given it," Terry said.
"I honestly don't think it went over the line but the linesman gave it and there's nothing we can do about that. Spurs are one of the best sides in the league. It was a great performance and a great result."
Tottenham defender Ledley King could not hide his frustration at the decision.
"I didn't think it crossed the line. I don't see how the referee could have seen it," King said.
"We got ourselves back in the game but we got caught out when they picked us off."
Carlo Cudicini, the Tottenham goalkeeper, agreed with King that the referee was wrong to award the goal when he couldn't be certain it was in.
"Of course everyone knows it wasn't a goal," the former Chelsea player said.
"I wasn't sure if the ball was in or out at first because I had a few players in front of me, but my feeling was it wasn't a goal.
"Some of our players went to the linesman and he said it was the referee's decision.
"As a referee you have to be 100 percent sure to give a goal. Obviously he wasn't sure because it wasn't in. I think it is a really bad decision."
