Iron get beach ball official

Last updated : 19 October 2009 By Luke Thornhill

Sunderland beat Liverpool 1-0 thanks to a strike where Darren Bent's shot came off the ball - thrown onto the pitch by a Reds fan - and went the opposite way to where the visiting keeper Pepe Reina had been anticipating.

Mike Jones allowed the goal to stand, but has been widely critcised in the media - both by pundits and "expert commentators" such as the former referee Jeff Winter, who is regularly trotted out to offer his views to people such as Sky Sports News.

Graham Poll - a man who once gave a player three yellow cards in a World Cup finals match - and Dermot Gallagher have also seen fit to criticise the decision, saying he should have stopped play during Sunday's match before the goal.

Hewill officiate the Championship game at London Road on Saturday rather than a top tier match, although sadly his presence in the game is lmore ikely to be mentioned in most national media's coverage of the match than the two teams playing.