Marcus Rashford’s goal against Liverpool sparked a debate on social media, with fans questioning why VAR allowed the controversial goal to stand.
The England international was on target as Manchester United defeated Liverpool 2-1 at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Rashford caught Liverpool defenders asleep after receiving a through ball from Anthony Martial before slotting it into the net, beating the Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
After scoring, VAR had to intervene to check a possible offside as Rashford appeared to be ahead of Joel Gomez, but the goal was allowed to stand, sparking outrage from Liverpool fans who believed that the call was inaccurate.
According to the new stipulated rules proposed by UEFA, in such scenarios, the player is given a ‘benefit of the doubt’, which gives the attacker in question an advantage. As outlined by UEFA, if VAR checking lines (of attacker and defender) meet, the player will be deemed onside.
What ESPN Journalist Said About The VAR Decision?
Commenting on the VAR’s decision, ESPN Dale Johnson said that the call was an accurate decision.
“It gives tolerance level, or margin of error, of 5cm back to the attacking player, meaning they can be just in front of the defender but the goal will stand due to the possible inaccuracies in the system.
“Usually the offside image shows both lines to attacker and defender, but when a player is onside due to the tolerance level the computer automatically only displays the line to the defender – which in the Premier League is green to make it clearer that a goal is good. The line isn’t displayed to both players (in any league) because they would sit on top of each other.
“Rashford was marginally offside, but onside due to this benefit of the doubt.”
