LONDON: Emmanuel Adebayor claimed the lack of goal-line technology in football is “killing the game” in the wake of Tottenham’s 5-1 defeat by Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

Tottenham’s were amazed when referee Martin Atkinson allowed Juan Mata’s ‘ghost goal’ to stand despite the fact that Benoit Assou-Ekotto cleared the Spaniard’s shot before it crossed the line.

With Spurs already 1-0 down thanks to Didier Drogba’s opener, they were compelled to throw men forward, and even though Gareth Bale pulled a goal back, they were ultimately hammered thanks to late goals from Ramires, Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda.

Adebayor, denied a first appearance in an FA Cup Final, said: “We have to blame the referee. I think we have done well and he has made a lot of mistakes and made a lot of wrong decisions. How many goals scored this season were disallowed that were onside?

“To be honest, I’m just tired of it and everyone is talking about goal-line technology. They have to make something happen because it’s killing the league, it’s killing the FA Cup, it’s killing the game, it’s killing everything.”

Midfielder Scott Parker claimed no-one in the ground but Atkinson – who did not consult his assistant – thought the ball had crossed the line.

He added: “It’s not even a debate, is it, really? I think it’s clearly obvious. It was nowhere near the line. I had a perfect view. Four players were covering the line, so how the ball could’ve got over the line, I don’t know. The linesman said he didn’t make the decision. The ref took it upon himself.”

Manager Harry Redknapp revealed Atkinson approached him after the game to apologise for giving the goal.

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