Today’s tabloid headlines say it all: “Diver!” “Cheat!” And even his coach admitted, a bit ruefully, that the call was a bit suspicious.

Yesterday, as his team floundered, Liverpool striker David Ngog conspired to flop, winning a penalty that Steven Gerrard converted. The fact that Ngog dove is not in question. But the incident once again raises the issue of how many calls referees at the top level get wrong and what can be done about it. Few today are blaming last night’s man in the middle, Peter Walton, despite the fact that he was right on top of the play.

Why? He didn’t have replay. And the question of why he doesn’t — when we all do — is one this sport needs to answer.

Technology has exploded the twin myths that most of the times the refs get the big calls right, and that the ones they don’t “even out” over the course of a match. Last night, it was clear on first glance that Walton blew the call, but despite all the headsets and microphones apparently no one bothered to tell him. And it’s difficult to argue that Birmingham saw anything “evened out:” they left without two hard-earned points on the road. What happens if, come spring, they are relegated by two points? Is that fair? Of course not.

The bottom line here, like it or not, is that replay has to come into the game. We purists — and I am one of them — don’t like the idea of stopping games while people huddle around monitors. But I think there’s room for a compromise: Would it really be so hard to have seen the fourth official interject last night and wave that penalty kick attempt off? I think not.

Without it, we see what happens: Cheaters get away with cheating, and teams are unfairly punished. And Liverpool — which, by the way, was the more positive team on the night — sees a hard-earned point tainted.


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