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Spain left seething after Cup exit
MADRID (Reuters) -- Spain has been incensed by refereeing decisions it believes deprived the team of victory over South Korea on Saturday and a place in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 52 years. Players, the coach, fans, press, officials and politicians were up in arms after Egyptian referee Gamal Ghandour and his linesmen ruled out what appeared to be two legitimate goals, one of them in extra time. It was the fiercely competitive South Koreans who eventually sealed a 5-3 penalty shootout victory after the game finished 0-0 following 120 minutes of absorbing football. A number of Spanish players, together with sections of the country's sporting press, have hinted at conspiracy theories, claiming it was important to the success of the tournament that at least one of the co-hosts reached the semi-finals. FURIOUS "It was shameful, we were completely robbed," a furious Ivan Helguera told reporters. "We played well, but we feel that the referees have thrown us out of the World Cup. "We knew it would be a difficult game because our rivals run so much, and because the referees were going to help them as they did against Italy, but we didn't think they would help them that much," the Real Madrid midfielder added. "Korea didn't deserve to make the semi-finals and they will have a tough time against Germany, but if they get the help they did today they can win the World Cup." Sports daily Marca described the game as "the robbery of the century," while its rival As claimed "it was the referee that beat us." Spain skipper Fernando Hierro, playing his last match for the national side, also raised doubts over the refereeing decisions. "There were four of five decisions during the match that were difficult to understand," he told Spanish television. "We would like to think that they were human errors, but we are left with the terrible doubt that they maybe they weren't." Even the Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar made a veiled side-swipe at the referee. "Today we didn't have any luck," he told reporters at the European Union summit in Seville. "And there were also a few other things that had an influence, but we can leave that for another news conference." MISSED OPPORTUNITY But behind the weeping and gnashing of teeth that has accompanied the team's exit is a lingering feeling that the players let slip a unique opportunity to sample World Cup glory. Spain hardly needed to stretch themselves to qualify with maximum points from a group that included Slovenia, South Africa and Paraguay. They made hard work of a penalty shootout victory over Ireland in the second round, but the path looked clear to a place in the semi-finals at the very least. But despite the fact that a number of key refereeing decisions went against them in Saturday's match, and even accounting for the absence of leading striker Raul, most commentators agreed that Spain lacked the vital killer instinct needed to win the tournament. "Spain did not have the decisiveness, nor the energy to overwhelm the Koreans and rise above factors such as the referee," said El Mundo in its match analysis. Former Spain coach Javier Clemente followed a similar line of argument in his column in the national daily. "We felt so disappointed because we gave the impression of dominating the game for so long," he said. "But we need to reflect on the fact that I cannot remember that the Korean keeper had to make a single important save during the match itself." The sadness for Spain and its football fans is that as El Mundo said in its editorial: "It will probably take several more decades for the national team to have such an perfect opportunity to make the semi-finals of a World Cup." Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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