UEFA chief referee Collina claims 'Ukraine goal against England should have been awarded'

London - UEFA's Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has claimed that Ukraine's goal England in their final Euro 2012 Group D match should have been given as the ball has crossed the line.

"The ball crossed the line. That was unfortunate. It would have been better not to have it," The Telegraph quoted Collina, as saying, the day after the Group D match in Donetsk that England won 1-0.

Collina blamed human error for the call but said that two similar decisions in the 24 matches played so far in the tournament, in the Germany-Portugal and Italy-Croatia group matches, had been correct.

"The third, unfortunately, was wrong," he added.

The incident arose in the 62nd minute of the game with the score at 1-0, when Ukraine's Marko Devic forced England's Joe Hart into a save and the ball looped back over the goalkeeper towards the net, while defender John Terry acrobatically leapt to clear the ball from under the bar.

Television replays indicated the ball crossed the line, but Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai, advised by an assistant referee on the line, waved play on.

Kassai's decision was greeted with dismay in Ukraine, with many claiming the team was denied at least a point.

The incident has reopened the debate about the introduction of goal-line technology and 'ghost goals' after a series of high-profile cases, where goals were either given or disallowed, including against England in the last World Cup two years ago.