Florian Wirths appeared to be offside before making it 1-1 in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday, but the goal was conceded after a lengthy VAR check, much to Jamie Carragher’s embarrassment.
Sunday’s Fulham v Liverpool will no doubt be remembered for Harrison Reid’s 97-minute screamer, but there was another major theme at Craven Cottage. That won’t help define the Premier League as the best league in the world, which it claims to be.
VAR is always a hot topic in the Premier League and it took center stage on Sunday, awarding the first two goals after initially being ruled out on the field. Harry Wilson and Florian Wirtz benefited from Andy Madeley’s review of his efforts at Stockley Park.
Wilson’s arrow into the bottom corner came after a near offside ruling. However, VAR technology revealed that Virgil van Dijk had actually played the Welshman onside before kicking Alisson into the bottom corner.
Wirtz’s decision was even more controversial. The German appeared to be offside when Conor Bradley found him inside the penalty area and waved past Bernd Leno. Wirtz didn’t celebrate much and admitted after the game that he thought he was offside. “I didn’t even celebrate because I was convinced it was offside,” he said.
read more: Jamie Carragher openly questions VAR after Florian Wirtz’s ‘offside’ goalread more: Premier League, Fulham vs Liverpool officials explain the problem caused by overturning VAR twice
However, VAR was not at all convinced and Liverpool found themselves level. A post by X from Premier League Match Center read: “VAR checked the referee’s no-goal decision and found that Wirtz was in an onside position and recommended that the goal be conceded.”
That didn’t sit well with Jamie Carragher. “To me it looks like he’s offside. He looks like he’s further forward,” Carragher told Sky Sports while analyzing the goal. “I know angles can be deceiving, but given the fact that we got the penalty spot, I can’t believe it was given to us.”
Former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer agreed with Carragher, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: “If you watch the replay of the Liverpool goal, every frame that stopped in goal looks offside. It’s bizarre.”
This is not the first controversial VAR decision in the Premier League, nor will it be the last. But there is a fairly simple, if controversial, explanation for this.
If this incident had happened in the Champions League, Wirtz would have been ruled offside. However, while UEFA determines offside in millimeters, the Premier League’s approach is different. Since the start of the 2020/21 season, attackers have been given 5cm, which is why the graphics use a thicker offside line.
This tolerance level should give a slight advantage to the attacking side, but this season has been at the center of much controversy, especially as broadcasters like Sky Sports may draw their own lines and reach different conclusions.
Back in November, Manchester City were furious after Bruno Guimarães was ruled onside in the build-up to Harvey Barnes’ goal. Similarly, Aston Villa were frustrated when Gabriel Gutmundsson appeared to be offside before Lucas Nmeka scored at Leeds on 23 November.
The fact that offside isn’t really black and white, and that VAR offside graphics can be interpreted in different ways by fans, is far from ideal for the Premier League. But as it is, the controversy will no doubt continue.
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