England stars have endured their fair share of heartache over the years as officials fail to spot shots crossing the line.
Frank Lampard’s strike against Germany at the 2010 World Cup is arguably the most notable of any goal in world football not being awarded, with his half-volley bouncing at least a full yard over the goal-line.
A decade prior to that incident, however, Ray Parlour experienced the exact same agony while playing for England. Though admittedly not in quite the same circumstances, Parlour, while playing for the Three Lions against Finland during qualifying for World Cup 2002, missed out on his first goal for the national team.
England star Ray Parlour denied first, and only, international goal
Having hit a 30-yard strike, Parlour’s shot bounced down off the crossbar and crossed the goal-line, but the linesman failed to spot it and the game remained 0-0.
“Yeah, that was over the line! It was like Lampard against Germany,” Parlour exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “That was under Howard Wilkinson.
“It was a cold night in Helsinki, I got my chance, and I remember that when I hit it, I thought, ‘That’s got a chance’. It hit the bar, then it was so clearly over the line. I was celebrating. But they said it wasn’t over the line. I thought, ‘What?!’
“It was a 0-0 draw, and you never know: that can make a big difference in a career. I was more gutted for my mates, because they’d backed me as first goalscorer and it was big money for them!”
Parlour failed to play in a major tournament for the Three Lions, with injury ruling him out of Euro 2000 following a clash with Brazil just weeks before the tournament was due to start.
“Before Euro 2000, Roberto Carlos did my ligaments,” Parlour says. “It was Brazil at Wembley, I was playing really well, then I went for a tackle and stretched my ligaments. I was gutted. That would have been my big chance.
“In tournament football, if you get a chance and you come on and score, suddenly your England career can kick off. But it wasn’t to be.”
Parlour made just 10 appearances for England during his career, with players such as David Beckham selected ahead of him, while his falling-out with Glenn Hoddle also limited his chances.
