In France, the images of the goals denied to the Belgians of Union Saint-Gilloise were taken aback. On the other side of the border, anger and frustration mixed with incomprehension. The Belgians lost against Olympique de Marseille (3-2) during the 6th day of the first round of the Champions League and their chances of continuing the European adventure are almost compromised.
In the 77th minute, Kevin Mac Allister’s equalizer was denied for offside, the freeze of which made the rounds on social networks. With his back to goal, like the last Marseille defender, the Argentinian was caught by the VAR due to the position of his heel. Emerson’s elbow was certainly closer to the goal, but arms are not considered when it comes to offside.
A first objection to the millimeter – or even the pixel – of video assistance. Before a new goal was denied to USG ten minutes later. Here too, striker Promise David did not seem to have a decisive lead over his opponents, but the video assistance confirmed the linesman’s vision (90th).
“A story of millimeters”
“Is this a joke?” », exclaimed the commentator on Belgian television. A few minutes later, the consternation had not left the Brussels ranks. “Football is not science, it’s not a story of millimeters,” Mac Allister railed in the mixed zone. It’s not the football I loved as a child. But hey, these are the rules and I can’t change anything. It’s a matter of milliseconds at VAR. »
The Argentine defender insisted on Instagram by sharing a screenshot of the reveal: “Football is dying,” he wrote in the caption. “My heart as a football fan hurts today, when we see this goal refused by a millimeter, by an ankle. Kevin also doesn’t benefit from this position,” added his trainer David Hubert.
While remaining diplomatic, Adem Zorgue affirmed his disagreement. “We always respect the referee’s decisions but in other cases, it would have been accepted,” assured the midfielder. I just saw the image, it’s a millimeter or two. I do not agree with this decision because it has no impact on the situation. For me, it’s purpose. »
The Belgian press followed the players’ aspirations. For RTBF, the USG was “crucified by Marseille and the VAR”. Most of the media were quite fatalistic, pointing out the consequences for the European destiny of the Unionists. “When we know that television images can only be stopped at a quarter of a second, and not at the immediate moment, how can we be sure that the player was really offside at the exact moment of the pass? », underlines L’Avenir, according to which “football has once again lost” contrary to “a regulation which has undoubtedly been outdated for several years”.
The Wenger law in question
In any case, the feeling of déjà vu is persistent. This sequence is reminiscent of the goal denied to Kylian Mbappé a month and a half earlier during the Clasico won by Real Madrid (2-1). Once again, the defenders of the Wenger law will be able to use this example to promote the proposal of the former Arsenal coach.
This provides for declaring the position of the player illegal during an offensive phase, only if his body exceeds that of the last defender in its entirety. Today, only a tiny part of the body – excluding the arm – is enough to signal the attacker is offside.
“They want to make the game more fluid and encourage the offensive in a football which is often slowed down by technology and millimeter decisions,” explained former international referee Bruno Derrien. But aren’t we just going to move the problem? It is clear that there were already goals disallowed for surgical offsides. The debates will continue and, in certain situations, we will say that the attacker is not completely in front of the defender…”
At the end of October, the IFAB conceded that a debate was needed to determine whether it was possible to “reduce marginal offside decisions”. The association which determines the rules of the game is expected to discuss the issue on January 20.