Referee admits blunder

The referee whose controversial penalty decision cost Northern Ireland their place at the 2018 World Cup finals has admitted he made a “mistake”.

Romanian Ovidiu Hategan pointed to the spot after Xherdan Shaqiri had blasted a shot against defender Corry Evans from point-blank range during the first leg of the play-off with Switzerland at Windsor Park in November. Ricardo Rodriguez’s spotkick proved the only goal over the two legs, and Switzerland qualified for this summer’s finals.

Said Hategan: “It was a sad and unpleasant moment for me, sad because I made that mistake, painful because with my team, we had good performances.”