Football rules expert Dale Johnson has given his verdict on Arsenal's opening goal against Chelsea in their Carabao Cup tie, after it was allowed to stand while Manchester City saw a goal chalked off in similar fashion against Newcastle.
It took the Gunners just seven minutes to take the lead in the semi-final tie against their London rivals, as a Declan Rice corner was headed home by Ben White for the opener. However, there was outrage when the goal was allowed to stand, as Viktor Gyokeres appeared to be on the goal line while jostling with Marc Guiu, who was attempting to reach the ball.
The incident was checked and cleared by VAR, but that sparked fury from Man City supporters. In their eyes, it was no different to their effort against Newcastle in their semi-final, which saw Antoine Semenyo's backheel disallowed for Erling Haaland being in an offside position.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola remonstrates with referee Chris Kavanagh Related
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Rules Expert Gives Verdict on Both Incidents
When disallowing Semenyo's goal, referee Chris Kavanagh offered an explanation to those attending St James' Park. He said: "After review, Manchester City number nine is in an offside position and impacts the ability of the defender. Final decision offside."
There was outrage at the time over the decision, with former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett stating that the decision to disallow the goal was "ludicrous." And City supporters only grew more angry after Arsenal's opener on Wednesday night, as it appeared that Gyokeres was impeding Guiu and stopping him from clearing the ball.
However, rules expert Johnson believes that the decisions reached in both games were correct, stating that while they were similar situations, there were slight differences between the two. Writing for BBC Sport, he said: "Giving offside against Haaland is technically correct in law but it is a VAR over-reach. It is not the kind of intervention we have come to see in the Premier League, so by extension the same would be expected for the Carabao Cup.
"The goal incidents were comparable but not the same. Haaland was effectively protecting the path of the ball and could be considered to have been stopping Thiaw from getting to it.
"Guiu, however, had his back to play when White headed the ball and was not looking at the ball. It is harder to say the Chelsea player was in a position to stop the goal."
That was ultimately the same conclusion reached by former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports. He said: "For me, it's not offside. It's well worked from Arsenal, well done. We all spoke about it before the game that they are strong in their set-pieces — and he [Guiu] is not looking at the ball."
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Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres celebrates scoring their second goal with Ben White
White's early goal helped put the Gunners in a great spot for the rest of the game, as Mikel Arteta's side went on to secure a 3-2 victory in the first leg of the semi-final. Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi's strikes were separated by an effort from Alejandro Garnacho in the 57th minute, and the Argentine was on hand to grab another with seven minutes of normal time remaining.
Victory puts Arsenal in the driving seat for the tie, although Chelsea could go on to mount a comeback at the Emirates. The return leg is set to take place on Tuesday 3rd February, with a place at Wembley at stake.