Karim Benzema’s disallowed goal for Real Madrid on the stroke of half time has caused confusion.
Benzema slotted the ball past Alisson after the ball deflected back to him off Fabinho. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled offside to the bemusement of many fans and pundits.
Firstly, Benzema was seen as being in an offside position because he was ahead of Alisson and only Andy Robertson was between him and the goal. In offside terms, Robertson serves as the goalkeeper here. However, the confusion comes because the ball rebounds off Fabinho last before going into Benzema’s path.
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Usually, this would mean that the goal was onside as it hasn’t been played forward from one of his own players. But after a long check, the VAR decision was for it to be offside. This was because it wasn’t a deliberate deflection from Fabinho. Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen all thought Los Blancos were hard done by when talking on BT Sport at half time.
Peter Walton, refereeing expert for BT Sport tried to explain the situation. He said: “It’s actually an easy one. Benzema is in an offside position - the offence is committed if the ball comes back to him. The ball deflects off Fabinho. Because of that, Benzema is offside. If Fabinho deliberately played the ball, he is onside. However, it is a deflection, so he is offside.”
Liverpool will hope to make the most of their let off in the second half.
