THERE was huge drama in the Championship last night as West Brom defender Cedric Kipre recreated Maradona’s “hand of god”.
The incident took place in the 52nd minute of the game after QPR midfielder Sam Field headed a goalbound effort towards the West Brom net.
However, with the ball already having beaten West Brom keeper Alex Palmer, the shot was cleared off the line by the hand of Kipre – who slapped the ball over the crossbar with his hand.
Kipre managed to disguise his handball so well that barely any QPR players in the West Brom box even appealed for a penalty.
QPR fans behind the goal also didn’t appear to notice the hand of God, with many simply putting their head in their hands in the belief that the Hoops had missed a great chance.
Likewise, the Sky Sports pundits at full time said they all thought they’d witnessed an “unbelievable” save from Palmer on first glance and only realised there had been a handball after they saw a replay.
The controversy could be crucial for both teams at either end of the table with the game ending 2-2.
Victory would have seen QPR rise to 16th in their fight to stave off relegation.
Instead, they sit in 19th and are just one point above the drop zone.
And for West Brom, a point was valuable in keeping them in the hunt for a playoff place.
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The Baggies sit fifth on 60 points and are five points ahead of seventh placed Norwich.
After the game, QPR coach Marti Cifuentes joked that his team would have to train playing against “two goalkeepers” going forward.
The Spanish coach joked: “I’ve been told West Brom have played with two ‘keepers for while. Football is a game with mistakes, and unfortunately, the referees can make mistakes as well.
“It’s a difficult job, the second-most difficult job, after being a manager. But I’m not going to complain, I’m here to make sure my team is better than that, so if today we had to play against two ‘keepers, we need to practice against two ‘keepers.
Like most at the ground, Cifuentes also thought that the hand of god was simply a great save at first, saying: “I thought the keeper made an amazing save. The real keeper.”
QPR defender Steve Cook was less magnanimous however and said: “It was a blatant handball from Kipre and it can’t be missed. It’s a terrible decision from the referee.”
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan meanwhile said he “couldn’t remember the action.”
When pressed on the matter he said: “Hopefully the decisions made by the referees are the correct decisions, but unfortunately, mistakes happen.”
