Referee Urs Meier reveals he DIDN’T SEE foul in Sol Campbell’s England goal vs Portugal despite disallowing it Euro 2004

IT might have been 22 years since it happened, but England won’t forget – or forgive – the refereeing decision that knocked them out of Euro 2004. Of course, it takes a lot more than one decision to knock a country out of a tournament. But, when Sol Campbell scored a towering header in the 90th minute, the Three Lions thought they had moved on to the semi-finals. Sol Campbell towered over both Ricardo and John Terry Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd Despite the minimal contact, the referee chose to give a free-kick in the 90th minute Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd Instead, Swiss referee Urs Meier chalked the goal off on his own accord. This was way before VAR could take the brunt of the fall. The tie then went to extra time and penalties where first David Beckham and then Darius Vassell would miss to bring their tournament to an end. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Worse still, Portugal went all the way to the final and lost to surprise package Greece. Meier has since said his gut screamed “foul” when Campbell scored. Even if he hadn’t seen a foul himself, he felt something wrong. Thus, he disallowed the goal. Only later, watching the replays, did Meier notice the Portuguese goalkeeper’s arms were not raised to catch the ball. John Terry, who jumped alongside Campbell, had made some contact with the goalkeeper. That was the foul Meier believed he saw. Meier still proudly stands by that call: “It didn’t feel right,” he said of the goal. “With experience, I learned to trust that feeling.” Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK England could not believe Meier’s decision Credit: Getty Images – Getty Campbell, naturally, has a very different opinion. In the wake of the exit in 2004, the England defender said: “I believe if it was the other way round it would have been a goal to the Portuguese. “Having seen it now, I’m even more convinced that it was a goal. “The worst moment for me wasn’t Darius’ or David’s miss in the penalty shoot-out, it was that goal being disallowed because it shouldn’t have gone as far as a penalty shoot-out.” Another in a long line of ‘what ifs’ for England. Comment now