Angry Camacho blasts referee
Chris Borg Saturday, June 22, 2002

Fernando Morientes is furious after linesman Ali Tomusange disallowed his golden goal (Reuters)

Angry Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho hit out at the referee after watching his side crash out of the World Cup against co-hosts South Korea.

Spain lost on penalties after 120 minutes had failed to produce a goal - but referee Gamal Ghandour controversially disallowed two Spanish efforts, one of which would have provided the decisive golden goal. Five minutes into the second half, Ivan Helguera's header from a free-kick was ruled out for a foul inside the penalty area.

And then an extra-time Fernando Morientes header was chalked off when a linesman flagged because he thought the ball had gone out of play before Joaquin provided the cross. Replays subsequently showed the decision to have been incorrect, and Camacho said: 'I thought the referee would be fairer in a quarter-final match like this. We fought to the end and worked so hard, but we went out because South Korea were luckier than us. I am just sorry we couldn't go any further.'

Fuming Morientes said: 'We are talking about the quarter-finals of a World Cup, not a friendly match played just anywhere. Two goals disallowed - that has never been seen.'

But delighted South Korea coach Guus Hiddink hailed his unfancied side's latest achievement and added: 'More dreams have come true. I can't describe the feeling. I'm so happy for the boys. More dreams have come true. We'll have a little glass of champagne now, and what comes tomorrow comes tomorrow. We will approach the next match against Germany like, once more, a bunch of young dogs. We have gone so far and have nothing to lose, and we will play the way we like to play.'

And the Dutchman hailed South Korea's legions of noisy supporters, saying: 'These fans are fantastic, without any violence, so I am so happy for them.'

South Korea goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae added: 'I was told to keep my cool, and that's the attitude I took. I told myself  'don't budge'. I became confident we could win this one when the game went into overtime. We analysed video tape of Spain's penalty kicks with Ireland.'