By: Poorit “Sports in 1” Lertpaitoonpan
When Florian Wirtz scored a goal against Fulham back in January, he appeared to be behind the last defender, which should have been ruled as offside. However, the Premier League does have a rule that allow for 5 centimeters tolerance, which is why Wirtz got away with it.
The rule has been enforced since the 2021-2022 season and could appear more this season, given the introduction of semi-automatic offside technology that provides more accurate measurement of player location, determining whether or not they are offside.
Though, despite the rule being in effect for about 4 years, it has not come up and been talked about often at all, with Wirtz’s goal being the one that initiates the conversation among fans. Now the floodgates have been open, and every goal disallowed by VAR from now on will be under scrutiny, especially if the player was offside by a hair.
This morning (11 February) in local Thailand time, 2 such occurrences happened, leading to fiery outrage by some fans.
First, in the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, Joe Willock’s opener was denied by VAR. It seems that only the top of his head was offside.
Though Newcastle would still win the match 2-1, this decision may not be as damaging to the result of the game.
On the other hand, in West Ham’s draw against Man United, Casemiro headed in a then-equalizer that was stripped away by VAR. The picture makes it seem like he was offside only by his kneecap.
Eventually, Sesko would equalize for Man United in the dying minutes of the stoppage time, but some speculate whether or not United were robbed of a win with this goal disallowed.
According to the BBC, VAR is offered three frames to determine the photo to be used for reference. The problem, however, is that the animation footage used is not accurately correlated to real-life action.
Perhaps, in attempts to create more transparency in referees’ decisions, the animation creates more questions for the fans than answers.
I would propose the graphic to include the 5cm margin of error within the frame, accompanied by the frame that was used in decision-making. This can better demonstrate to the audience what is used in decision-making.
Because these 5 centimeters could be the difference between winning and losing.
References
Fulham 2-2 Liverpool: Why was Wirtz’s goal onside through VAR? – BBC Sport
https://x.com/PLMatchCentre/status/2021339046224773372?s=20
https://x.com/PLMatchCentre/status/2021318444499529784?s=20
Sports in 1 
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