Etymology
The term arose from a quote by then-Chelsea manager José Mourinho following a 2004–05 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Liverpool, ultimately decided by a single goal by Luis García, awarded by referee Ľuboš Micheľ, but dubbed a "ghost goal" and described as "a goal that came from the moon" by Mourinho.
Television replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball crossed the line or not. Micheľ said that his decision was based on the reaction of the assistant referee, and had he not awarded Liverpool the goal, he would have had no other alternative but to award them a penalty kick and send off Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech for a foul on Milan Baroš.
After studying a series of still images of the incident, motion expert Mike Spann concluded that Micheľ had made the correct decision by signaling a goal. "The positioning and body movements of Chelsea's William Gallas, who tried to clear Luis García's shot with his right foot, as well as the movement of the ball relative to Gallas, led Spann to conclude: 'It was a goal'."
After the 2005 incident, the terms "ghost goal" and "phantom goal" have both been used to describe similar incidents at both club and international level.
In Germany, the term "Phantomtor" usually refers to the Bundesliga "goal" scored by Thomas Helmer in 1994. It was an error by the match officials, with the ball just missing the goal. It also was an important goal, as it directly influenced the outcome of the competition and led to an official objection by FIFA because the German Football Federation ordered a re-match.
Read more about this topic: Ghost Goal
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