From beach-balls to ghost goals here are the top six referee howlers following Newcastle’s bizarre penalty incident

EVERY referee is prone to making a costly error.

But some are worse than others as Newcastle fans found out in the 1-0 win over Burton on Wednesday night.

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Official Keith Stroud was forced to offer a grovelling apology after farcically disallowing Matt Ritchie’s penalty after Dwight Gayle encroached in the box.

Stroud has since been dropped for his next fixture and his error joins a list of calamity decisions over the years that includes ghost goals and World Cup heartache.

Here are six of the worst referee mistakes.

Graham Poll (Croatia v Australia, 2006 World Cup)

If there’s one tournament not to make a howler as a referee it’s on the biggest stage of all at the World Cup.

He reffed his first two games perfectly until Croatia took on the Aussies in the final group stage match.

Poll had shown Croat left-back Josip Simunic two (correct) yellow cards as fans were anticipating a red card to be brandished.

It was only until Simunic picked up his THIRD yellow that he was eventually given his marching orders.

Unsurprisingly, Poll was dropped for the rest of the matches and ended up retiring at the end of the following season.

Stuart Attwell (Watford vs Reading, 2008 Championship)

Reading player Stephen Hunt described it as “probably the worst decision I’ve ever witnessed in football” which says it all as his side were awarded the ‘goal’.

Described as the ‘ghost goal’ it will no doubt still be haunting Attwell to this very day.

A corner was whipped in and it hit Watford’s John Eustace before a Reading player hooked the ball back across goal looking for a team-mate.

Next thing you know Attwell was consulting with his assistant Nigel Bannister before awarding Reading with the goal when the ball had clearly gone past the post.

Watford boss Aidy Bothroyd admitted “it was like a UFO landing.”

Jorge Larrionda (England vs Germany, 2010 World Cup)

One that will still irk England fans to the core – but Germany supporters will see it as redemption.

Matthew Upson had just brought England back into the game having conceded two goals in their knock-out clash.

And with Germany’s tails tucked between their legs, England went for the equaliser and they had it when Frank Lampard produced a scintillating chip over keeper Manuel Neuer.

Well at least they thought they did.

Larrionda ruled the goal out to Lampard’s disbelief and the midfielder even checked the replays on the big screen in the stadium only to see the ball clearly bounce over the line and back into the hands of the keeper.

England went onto lose the game 4-1 but the scoreline is something Three Lion fans will want to forget.

Rob Shoebridge (Coventry vs Crystal Palace, 1980 Premiership)

Clive Allen wouldn't have hit a sweeter free-kick in his career when his struggling Palace side took on Coventry.

A screamer with his right foot, the ball rocketed into the stanchion at the back of the net before rebounding back into play.

But the referee and his linesman believed it cannoned the post and ruled out the goal cutting Palace's celebrations short.

Manager Terry Venables said he was "disgusted about that decision" as his side endured a 3-1 defeat and were eventually relegated later in the campaign.

Mike Jones (Sunderland vs Liverpool, 2009 Premier League)

You'll probably never see anything else like it.

A 16-year-old called Callum Campbell and a beach-ball played a crucial part in Sunderland's 1-0 victory over Liverpool in 2009.

Black Cats striker Darren Bent struck a shot towards Pepe Reina's goal only for the ball to hit a Liverpool branded beach-ball and finding its way past the hapless Spaniard in goal.

Sunderland picked up the three points but the rules state that referee Jones should have disallowed the goal.

What's more poor Campbell started receiving death threats by his own supporters.

Felix Brych (Hoffenheim vs Bayer Leverkusen, 2013 Bundesliga)

Hoffenheim launched a huge protest after they endured a 2-1 defeat after the referee failed to spot Stefan Kiessling's header that hit the side netting.

Only there was a hole in the netting meaning the keeper had to claw the ball out of the net.

Deceived, the referee gave the goal only for Hoffenheim players to race to the goal to point out the gaping hole to the officials.

But they were powerless as they had already awarded Leverkusen their second goal.

Hoffenheim's managing director Alexander Rosen branded the decision a "scandal".