Geoff Cameron, USMNT Denied Goal and Penalty on the Same Play

Geoff Cameron headed a ball over the line in today’s U.S/Austria friendly in Vienna. It looked like it should have put the U.S. ahead 1-0, except the officials thought Austria keeper Martin Almer pawed it away before it crossed the line fully. The ref also ignored a handball on Austria’s Marko Arnautović on the same play. The U.S. players all reacted like it was a no-brainer it crossed the line, despite the inconclusive angle from the replay.

Good thing this match was only a friendly, with next to nothing at stake. Still, even when the U.S. steps out of the CONCACAF bubble its not immune from baffling referee decisions.

Austria later went ahead in the 33rd minute on a goal by Marc Janko and leads 1-0 at halftime.

Hey Sepp, we’ve still got plenty of time to implement goal-line technology before the party in Brazil kicks off in June. With some sort of tech in place the question of whether or not the ball fully crossed the line is rendered moot. It shouldn’t be that difficult.