While Liverpool were able to secure a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid last night, two offside decisions added a lot more to the story.
The Reds took the lead through strikes from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane in an electric first 20 minutes at Anfield. From there, we saw a red card, offside controversies and a host of missed chances.
Liverpool managed to come away with the win, but they and Atletico had a goal ruled out for offside. The decisions were correct under the current regulations, but FIFA is trialling a new rule that could have changed the scoreline.
What happened?
With Liverpool 2-0 ahead, Diogo Jota thought he’d put his side 3-0 up after a perfectly timed run and finish. As it turns out, his foot was just past the last Atletico defender, and it was therefore chalked off.
On the flip side, you had a well-worked Atletico free-kick that Luis Suarez eventually turned home. Alas, Joao Felix had gone a bit too quickly with his run in the build-up upon review.
What is the current offside rule?
The law indicates that a player is offside if any body parts that they can use to score a goal are closer to the goal and ball than the final defender. The fine margins by which players can be deemed offside has been a source of great debate in recent years due to the introduction of VAR into football.
What is the proposed new offside rule?
The proposed new rule states the following: “You are onside if any part of your body with which you can score a goal is in line with the second-last defender”.
By default, this means a player could leave a trailing leg to keep in line with a defender. From there, they’d still be in with a chance of scoring.
It’d divide opinion for sure, but we’d almost certainly have more goals to enjoy on Match of the Day.
To check out more on the debate regarding this potential change, take a glance at this Reddit thread.
Featured image credit: Getty
