Florian Wirtz‘s equaliser at Fulham was initially flagged as offside, and the initial eye test supported that decision, but is was awarded on review – and here is why.
Wirtz was afforded zero time to celebrate putting the ball in the back of the net as the assistant immediately raised his flag, with little complaint from the German.
“I was sure it was offside so I didn’t even celebrate,” Wirtz told Sky Sports. He was not the only one confident the ruling would stand.
Wirtz goal explained: Why it was awarded
• The 5cm tolerance: The goal stood due to the Premier League‘s 5cm tolerance level, which gives the benefit of the doubt to the attacker if the semi-automated lines overlap.
• Point of contact: Offside is judged at the first point of contact with the ball, not when it leaves the foot, placing Wirtz within the legal tolerance zone.
Footage on the live broadcast appeared to show Wirtz ahead of the defender in relation to the grass lines, but a lengthy check with semi-automatic technology saw the goal awarded.
As BBC‘s VAR expert Dale Johnson explains, it was allowed to stand due to the tolerance level for offside in the Premier League, which came into effect from the start of the 2021/22 season.
Explained: Florian Wirtz goal declared onside
After previously seeing offside lines drawn on top of each other on close calls, a 5cm buffer was added, which means if two lines touched, the player would be onside regardless of the on-field call.
Johnson explains the introduction of the tolerance “was because of inaccuracies in the technology, like the correct moment the ball has been passed.
“In effect a player could now be marginally offside on the technology, but onside when the tolerance level was applied.”
The Premier League continued with the 5cm tolerance level after introducing semi-automated offside technology as it wanted “to give some leeway to the attacker” and not treat the technology as “flawless.”
Thus, Wirtz appeared to be marginally offside, but he was given the advantage as the attacker, with the offside ruled based on Bradley’s first contact with the ball, not when it left his foot.
Law 11 of IFAB ‘Laws of the Game’ states that offside is judged by “the first point of contact of the ‘play’ or ‘touch’ of the ball should be used.”
This is the telling information as it supports the freeze-frame provided by VAR after the goal was awarded (pictured above), as Wirtz sits within the tolerance level.