Should Crystal Palace Get To Replay Match?

The south London club are calling for their match against Bristol City on Saturday to be replayed, after a remarkable lapse of concentration by the referee and his assistant resulted in a legitimate goal being disallowed. The 33rd-minute strike by Freddie Sears bounced straight back out of the goal. To all 22 players and the thousands in attendance, it looked a clear goal: yet referee Rob Shoebridge looked it up and down, wagged chins with his linesman, and awarded City a goal kick. Cue a splenetic rant by Palace gaffer Neil Warnock, and dark mutterings by owner Simon Jordan about the scruples of City's players, neither of which helped in their call for the match — which Palace lost following a last-minute goal — to be replayed. The Football League have turned down Palace's calls, saying it would be against the spirit of the game for the match to be contested again, but should the Bristolians have let their opponents score freely given what happened? Not likely: City have since made the bizarre claim that the decision was made for an infringement. Given Warnock's rottweiler reputation, this one could run and run