Welcome to the April meeting. Another month with plenty going on in football mostly centered on the controversial incidents in the FA cup semi-finals. I.e. the allegedly offside goal for Manchester United and when Nikos Dabizas appeared to deliberately handle the ball in the penalty area. Referee Paul Durkin has admitted he was wrong not to award Tottenham a penalty. Durkin said "I haven't had a chance to watch the video but from what I have been told, I obviously missed a crucial decision," "Maybe I was in the wrong position but I genuinely didn't see it and neither did my linesman, Mark Cooper." The ref added: "I'm bitterly disappointed, especially considering what was at stake for the two sides. But what can I say, that's the way it goes sometimes and I can't change what happened." Durkin was the recipient of much criticism from Spurs manager George Graham, who described the official's performance "poor day at the office". Although Durkin added "Don't forget George Graham's comments came after he's had chance to study the TV replays but at the time of the Dabizas incident he was 70 yards away and couldn't possibly have seen any more than I did. All this cannot help but add to the debate for video replays to be made available to referees. I have never been a fan of this idea in the past although on the two occasions in the semi finals the ball went out of play and would have given the referee the chance to view a replay of the incident by the touchline before play continues. I am certain Paul Durkin would have wished to have the option to be able to go to the edge of the pitch to watch the incident again and this is where it may assist referees in future. I am certain technology will be used in some way in the future to help the referee. It just a pity we can't have this on the local park. Regards, Alan Budenberg