There was more offside controversy in the Premier League this weekend. Former Premier League referees Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd have analyzed the similarities between offside incidents involving Virgil van Dijk, Murillo and Ebele Eze that resulted in different outcomes. Read the latest from Ref Watch…
Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest: Should Murillo’s goal at Anfield have been scored?
THE INCIDENT: Just 13 days after Virgil van Dijk’s goal at the Etihad was controversially canceled, there was a sense of déjà vu for Liverpool over Nottingham Forest’s first goal. Murillo’s shot survived a VAR check despite Dan Ndoye being placed in an offside position in front of Alisson. He was deemed not to have affected him by his actions.
Dermot said: “Going back two weeks, the gray area in these types of incidents is too wide. We are following the instructions of the authorities on the day.”
“It’s very subjective, it’s too loose. There’s no clear barrier like in handball.
“If we tighten this up, people might not like it, but we’ll accept it. At this point, people are saying this happened to our team this week, and this happened to our team this week.”
‘Liverpool are outraged by both decisions.’
‘Referees learned from Liverpool’s canceled goal’
Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher said of the difference between Van Dijk’s canceled goal and Murillo’s goal at Anfield:
“The difference is Andy Robertson’s movement, he moves towards the ball.
“You want consistency and you want good decisions, but you can’t have both. If you want consistency, all these goals will be disallowed.”
“Consistency is only good as long as everyone is happy.
“Last week it was said that Liverpool’s goal should have been a goal, but this week they gave away two goals as goals and I think everyone has watched and learned.
“They’ve been inconsistent. They’ve actually recognized and thought that in this situation a more acceptable situation is the goal. They’ve actually been giving people what they want.”
Arsenal 4-1 Spurs: Should Eze’s opening goal have been ruled out?
Incident: There was a similar incident on Emirates Airlines. Ebele Eze scores Arsenal’s second goal, but Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi are in offside positions and moving beyond the goalkeeper’s line of sight. Should the goal have been ruled out?
Dermot said: “Here’s what I don’t understand. I think both of those players were in the goalkeeper’s line of sight. They’re out of the goalkeeper’s line of sight so they’re being told they’re not having an impact.”
“This is the easiest to understand!”
Jay Bothroyd told Sky Sports News:
“That was probably the worst decision. They were in the keeper’s line of sight. When I saw it, I immediately said it was offside.”
“That’s the most obvious one. He’s looking straight at the ball, but there are two players in his line of sight. That’s why I don’t understand.”
Newcastle 2-1 Man City: Was Donnarumma fouled before Barnes scored?
Incident: Newcastle’s Harvey Barnes scores after pushing Man City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma into a corner.
Dermot said: “Was this a foul on Donnarumma? I don’t think so.”
Jay Bothroyd: “Donnarumma needs to be stronger. Barnes is leaning on him, but there’s a lot of players in the six-yard box. There’s going to be contact.”
Did the VAR image incorrectly judge offside?
Jay Bothroyd told Sky Sports News:
“I looked offside. To the naked eye it looked offside. When I drew the line it looked like Diaz was jumping, but he was actually on the ground.”
“Bruno Guimarães’ feet are so far ahead of Diaz’s body. I don’t understand how they came to that decision.”
Should Man City have been penalized for Schaal’s challenge on Foden?
Incident: In the first half, Man City were furious with referee Sam Ballot for not awarding a penalty after Fabian Schaal caught Phil Foden. VAR said this was a result of momentum rather than recklessness.
Dermot said: “They said no penalty because the guidelines say if the challenge is reckless it’s a yellow card. If it’s a yellow card then you have to give a penalty.”
“They don’t think Shah’s challenge is reckless. It’s a result of his momentum.
“This is going to divide a lot of people.”
Burnley 0-2 Chelsea: Should Burnley have been given a penalty for handball?
Incident: Should Burnley have been awarded a penalty in the first half for handball against Chelsea? Burnley players believe Robert Sanchez took the goal kick, not Trevor Chalobah, who touched the ball. Referee Peter Banks was unimpressed.
Dermot said: “Interesting.
“This was the second time this happened in this game. It happened early in the game as well.
“Jean Fleming is trying to get into the penalty area, but he can’t. If he comes in, he has to go out before he can challenge the player. So he can never challenge Charova for the ball.”
“The referee made the exact same decision earlier in the game, whistled at Fleming and told him to get out of the box if he wanted to get in.
“It was the same thing the second time. I restarted incorrectly.”








