Uruguayan linesman ‘sad’ about England blunder

The Uruguayan linesman who refused to allow Frank Lampard's equalising goal against Germany in the World Cup has come out to say he is "sad" about his error.

Mauricio Espinosa somehow failed to notice that the England midfielder's shot had bounced two feet over the goal line after hitting the crossbar, and his decision to wave play on cost England dear.

England were by far the worse team in their round-of-16 tie with Germany until shortly before the phantom goal. They had been 2-0 behind, but seconds before Lampard struck, Matthew Upson had scored with a header to make it 2-1. Had Lampard's goal stood it would have been 2-2.

"It was a very fast shot that I did not see properly, even though I was located in the right place," Espinosa told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

"It was only when we saw the TV that we realised what happened. I feel quite sad about it because we had prepared for such a long time for the World Cup.

"It could have happened to anyone, unfortunately it was us. You just have to accept it. Life goes on."

Espinosa paid the price for his blunder as he was not named as one of the officials chosen to oversee the closing stages of the competition.

However, England's departure has opened the door for referee Howard Webb. He is one of the refs vying to be given the honour of taking charge of the final. The policeman from Rotherham was named in Fifa's elite group of 10 referees, one of whom will oversee of the final. ·