Blunder ref’s admission is futile: McIlroy

NORTHERN Ireland legend Sammy McIlroy says referee Ovidiu Hategan’s admission that he made a huge mistake in the World Cup play-off defeat by Switzerland will “mean nothing” to the fans and team who won’t be going to the finals in Russia this summer.

Hategan (below) wrongly ruled that Corry Evans blocked a shot with his arm during the first leg, despite replays showing the ball struck the player’s shoulder.

“It was a sad and unpleasant moment for me, sad because I made that mistake,” Hategan said.

The blunder ended the Romanian’s hopes of refereeing at the World Cup finals but, ironically, he does support video technology to assist referees in Russia. He said: “I’ll see if I’m going to be a video referee.”

Former Manchester United favourite McIlroy said: “He may as well have said nothing. Even an apology would be too late as he made a big mistake, and there’s nothing he can say that can undo the damage or make the boys or Michael O’Neill feel any better.

“If he remains involved in some capacity at the World Cup as a video ref, that would be hard to take. Referees will make mistakes but this incident highlighted the importance of the use of video technology in the big games.”