Ovidiu Hategan, the referee that awarded controversial penalty for Switzerland against Northern Ireland during their world cup play-off last year has agreed that he made mistake.
Hategan ruled that Irish defender, Cory Evans blocked a shot with his arm with the replay showing that the ball hit the player’s shoulder.
The goal that resulted from the spot-kick was what helped the Swiss to secure the ticket to Russia.
The Romanian has been dropped as referee by FIFA for the 2018 World Cup in Russia as he name was omitted on the list of thirty-six referees released by the World Football governing body.
“It was a sad and unpleasant moment for me, sad because I made that mistake,” Hategan told Romanian media.
“Unfortunately I’m not among the 36, but I’ll see if I’m going to be a video referee,” he added. “Surely it has had a big influence and what happened in the play-off game. It’s not a secret and I’m not hiding behind words. “In our world, the referees are the same as the goalkeepers – everyone sees the mistake. “I’ve got over that moment, I’m a strong man. My family were there for me.”
