German parliament asked to have England goal recognised

The Bundestag, Germany's parliament, has been asked to have football officials belatedly recognise an England goal that was overlooked by the referee in England's World Cup loss to Germany.

Frank Lampard's blast off the underside of the crossbar - in the 38th minute of Sunday's Round of 16 match in South Africa - fell clearly behind the goal-line, but the referee waved play on.

Had the goal been given, the score would have gone 2-2. England eventually lost 4-1 and were eliminated from the tournament.

According to the head of the parliamentary committee which deals with petitions, Kersten Steinke, the petitioner argues that "fair play" is of paramount importance.

The petitioner, whose name was not given for reasons of privacy, was said to come from the city of Moenchengladbach, home of a first-division German football team.

The petitioner said it would have been nice if the English had made a similar petition after Geoff Hurst's shot in the 1966 World Cup final against West Germany in Wembley. The ball did not cross the line but was ruled a goal for 3-2 in an eventual 4-2 victory for England.

"We'll see what we do with this petition," Steinke said.

Only football's governing body, FIFA, has the power to set the record straight.