Thems the breaks

In 1891 an FA Cup quarter-final between Notts County and Stoke changed the game forever. Notts County’s left-back handled the ball on the line...but penalties did not exist. Stoke were awarded a free-kick on the line which the county goalkeeper easily smothered. Notts County won 1-0 and eventually reached the final. This incident caused such controversy that later the same year the FA was obliged to introduce penalties.
Unfortunately for Stoke, the very next season they were involved in another game, this time in the league, which changed the game forever. Stoke were losing 0-1 to Aston Villa when they were awarded a penalty two minutes from time. The Villa keeper kicked the (only) ball out of the ground and by the time it had been retrieved the referee had blown full time. This incident caused such controversy that the law was changed to allow added time for penalties.
Both incidents caused huge upset among the football community, relative to the brouhaha surrounding France’s qualification for the World Cup. It was obvious that there was a problem and a solution had to be found for the good of the game. Of course, nothing changed for Stoke. They lost both games and the results stood.
It was unlucky for Stoke and all the other teams who had lost in these ways before the rule changes; similarly, it was very lucky for the teams who subsequently benefitted from the rule changes. Ireland were unlucky this week; as soon as the authorities change their archaic thinking – if the Victorians can do it so can they! – and introduce video technology other teams will benefit.
When the incident happened I was as outraged as everyone else. I swore at the TV, I tweeted, I facebooked, I blogged, I 606ed. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s another historic(al) incident in the football timeline. Shame for Ireland, but thems the breaks.