In the second half, Trevoh Chalobah put 10-man Chelsea into the lead by flicking on Reece James’ corner – but did Enzo Fernandez play a major role in the ball going in – from an offside position?
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Chelsea’s No 8 was ahead of the play when Chalobah flicks the ball on and while Fernandez does not touch the ball, he appears to impact Cristhian Mosquera’s ability to clear the ball off the line.
Under the PGMOL rules, a player can be offside if they:
- prevent an opponent from being able to play the ball
- challenge an opponent for the ball or
- make an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.
Fernandez’s actions bring into question all three of these criteria. Sky Sports News have approached the PGMOL for comment.
While Mosquera’s right hand is technically level with Fernandez, the Laws of the Game state “The hands and arms of all players, including the goalkeepers, are not considered” in offsides, as you cannot gain an advantage by using your hands in football.
Instead, offsides are judged on the sleeve line. And Fernandez appears to be ahead of Mosquera’s sleeve.
This incident follows a number of subjective offside calls in the Premier League. Virgil van Dijk’s goal for Liverpool at Man City was ruled out because Andy Robertson was judged to have affected play from an offside position, without touching the ball.
Then two weeks later, VAR then allowed a Murillo goal for Nottingham Forest AT Liverpool even though Dan Ndoye was stood in an offside position. That goal was allowed as Ndoye was adjudged not to be in the eyeline of Alisson.
So have the officials missed a big call, which could affect this season’s title race?
