Manchester United fans are furious that VAR ruled out Wout Weghorst’s strike against Leeds on Sunday.
The striker thought he had bagged his first Premier League goal for United when he scooped the ball home in the dying embers of the 2-0 win. He set off to the travelling fans in celebration before seeing the assistant referee’s raised flag for offside.
VAR agreed with the on-field decision and Weghorst’s goal was chalked off after it was judged that the ball came off Harry Maguire with the striker beyond the last defender. However, another angle shows something different.
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Footage posted on social media seems to show the ball flicking off the forearm arm of a Leeds defender before bobbling into the path of Weghorst. United fans were left feeling aggrieved, suggesting they had missed out on either a goal or a penalty.
Football's law-makers IFAB break down frequently asked questions about offside on its website. And one of them details a similar situation to what is seen on the reverse angle footage of Weghorst’s disallowed goal.
It reads: “An attacking player (Team A) in an offside position receives the ball from a defending player (Team B) who made a clear movement towards the ball and tried to intercept a pass that could lead to a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Is the defender’s action considered a ‘deliberate save’ for offside?”
The answer says: “No, because a ‘save’ is only when a player stops, or attempts to stop, a ball which is going into or very close to the goal. The referee allows play to continue as the attacking player (Team A) is not considered to have gained an advantage as the defender (Team B) deliberately played the ball.”
United fans shared their frustrations on Twitter, claiming United were robbed of a decision and so missed out on boosting their goal difference.
@UTDCalypsoMUFC: If it’s not a goal it’s a penalty then.
@moco_ade: Officiating in England is poor.
@saquibhkahn: Another one to the growing list, absolutely useless refs running the game and the VAR.
@Utd42: Not only did it come off a Leeds player, but it could have been handball. It's getting worse.
@Imlogesh1: We are getting robbed with these kind of decisions though we have already won the match this should add a +1 to our goal difference.
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