The Premier League have accepted offside mistake in the build-up to Joao Cancelo’s goal in Manchester City’s triumph at West Bromwich Albion.
Cancelo scored City’s second goal in the 5-0 win, collecting a cut-back from Bernardo Silva and curling a lovely effort into the top corner from the edge of the area.
West Brom were furious after the assistant referee, Sian Massey-Ellis raised her flag against Bernardo when he received the ball on the right.
Bernardo took possession with a defender close by, with the flag going up to signal offside.
As some of the West Brom defence stopped and pointed at the flag, Bernardo continued and fed Cancelo to score.
The defender closest to Cancelo stopped, but the referee did not blow his whistle until the goal went in, so the decision could be checked by VAR.
Under Premier League rules since the introduction of VAR, assistant referees are told to keep their flags down if there is a goalscoring opportunity, with VAR able to determine whether an offside goal was actually on and prevent any legal goals being ruled out.
In this case, the Premier League have told BBC Radio Manchester that they accept the flag could have been held until the move had finished, but was raised as Bernardo stopped to assess his option.
With hindsight, they say it should have stayed down as VAR would have checked the offside anyway, which showed Bernardo was being played onside by a defender on the far side.
The incident came after the Premier League changed the rules around offside that would see a repeat of Bernardo’s goal against Aston Villa last week disallowed.
MEN
Read more on our Sport News Page
- British Singer, Adele And Simon Konecki Finalise Divorce Two Years After Their Separation
- Police Arrest Pretty Mike Over Breach Of COVID-19 Protocols
- Soldiers Feared Killed In Bandits Attack On Military Base In Katsina
- EVIL!!! Man In Police Custody For Stabbing His Wife With Kitchen Knife
- DISGRACE!!! Lady Stripped Naked, Beaten Mercilessly For Stealing Bone Straight Hair Worth Of N200,000
