- Stoke had a goal disallowed in the match against Swansea on Wednesday
- It was a bizarre goal and people wondered why it was ruled out
- CHRIS SUTTON: Why Ange Postecoglou is right to ignore the fourth-place debate – Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Stoke had a goal disallowed in the first half of the championship match in Swansea on Wednesday, but it remains a mystery why that goal was disallowed.
Swansea took the lead in the 19th minute through Liam Cullen, but Stoke thought they had equalized ten minutes later.
The controversial moment of the match started when Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth was met with a skipped through ball, with the 22-year-old looking up to try and start an attack for the hosts.
As he went to throw the ball to a teammate, it slipped from his grasp and hit the back of the head of Stoke striker Niall Ennis, before he reacted quickest by putting the loose ball into the net.
Ennis rode off to celebrate, but his joy was short-lived when the referee blew his whistle and awarded Swansea a free-kick.
Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth accidentally bounced the ball off the back of the head of Stoke striker Niall Ennis
Ennis turned and poked the ball into the net, but the goal was bizarrely disallowed
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The referee may have felt Ennis unfairly knocked the ball out of Rushworth’s hands, but replays showed this was not the case and the striker had done very little wrong.
The bizarre goal – which was harshly disallowed – left many astonished, including both managers.
Swansea boss Luke Williams appeared to have a surprised look on his face and may have missed the incident in a flash, while Stoke manager Steven Schumacher remained perplexed that the decision was against his team.
Schumacher said: ‘I didn’t think it was a foul. I don’t think Niall Ennis knows [Carl] Rushworth is here. He just stands up. He may stand where he stood.
‘Carl Rushworth just collided with him when he was trying to throw the ball quickly and the ball went out because it’s difficult conditions in the rain and Niall taps it in.
“That would have put us back at 1-1 at that point, back in the game. We would still have been alive.’
Former QPR and Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth was in the Sky Sports studio and agreed with Schumacher that Stoke had struggled.
‘[Referee] Keith Stroud is in a great position and fair play, he’s going to have to think quickly and think, ‘What’s the law? What’s happening over there?’
Swansea manager Luke Williams appeared stunned by what had happened
Stoke boss Steven Schumacher was perplexed as to why the goal was disallowed
‘He’s explaining [to the Stoke players] that the keeper had two hands on it. In a challenge situation I understand that, but there is no challenge, the goalkeeper actually caused the challenge. The goalkeeper made the mistake.
‘I think Stoke could feel very hurt by that.’
Swansea went on to win 3–0 thanks to second-half goals from Matt Grimes and Joshua Key, taking their lead over the bottom three to seven points.
They look almost safe from relegation, but the same cannot be said for Stoke as they are just three points above 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday and still have work to do to stay in the Championship for another year.