Florian Wirtz appeared to be offside before he made it 1-1 for Liverpool against Fulham on Sunday, but a lengthy VAR check saw the goal given, much to the bemusement of Jamie Carragher
Fulham vs Liverpool on Sunday will rightly be remembered for Harrison Reed’s 97th-minute screamer, but there was one other major theme at Craven Cottage that won’t help the Premier League’s self-appointed definition as the greatest league in the world.
VAR is an ever-present talking point in the Premier League and it was front and centre on Sunday, awarding the first two goals after they had initially been ruled out on-field. Harry Wilson and Florian Wirtz both benefited from Andy Madley reviewing their efforts from Stockley Park.
Wilson’s arrowed effort into the bottom corner came after a close offside call. But the VAR technology showed that Virgil van Dijk had in fact played the Welshman onside before he blasted past Alisson into the bottom corner.
The Wirtz decision was much more contentious. The German appeared to be offside when Conor Bradley found him inside the box and he swept past Bernd Leno. Wirtz did not really celebrate and admitted post-match that he thought he was offside. “I was sure it was offside so I didn’t even celebrate,” he said.
READ MORE: Jamie Carragher openly questions VAR after Florian Wirtz’s ‘offside’ goal givenREAD MORE: Premier League issue explanation as VAR overrules Fulham vs Liverpool officials TWICE
But VAR was not sure at all and Liverpool found themselves level. A post from the Premier League match centre on X read: “VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal – and established that Wirtz was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded.”
That did not wash with Jamie Carragher. “He looks offside to me. He looks like he’s further forward,” Carragher said as he analysed the goal on Sky Sports. “I know sometimes the angles can fool you, but the fact we’ve got the penalty spot to look at, I just can’t believe that’s been given.”
Former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer agreed with Carragher, saying on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Looking at replays of that Liverpool goal, every frame that they stop at it looks offside. It’s a strange one.”
This is not the first controversial VAR decision in the Premier League and it won’t be the last. But this one does have a fairly straightforward – if contentious – explanation.
Had the incident happened in the Champions League, Wirtz would have been offside. However, while UEFA does offside by the millimetre, the Premier League has a different way of doing things. Since the start of the 2020/21 season there has been 5cm of grace given to attackers, with graphics therefore using a thicker offside line.
This tolerance level is supposed to hand a slight advantage to attackers, but has been at the centre of plenty of controversy this season, especially because broadcasters like Sky Sports can draw their own lines and come to different conclusions.
Back in November, Manchester City were furious after Bruno Guimaraes was adjudged to have been onside in the build-up to Harvey Barnes’ goal. Similarly, Aston Villa were annoyed after Gabriel Gudmundsson appeared to be offside before Lukas Nmecha scored for Leeds on November 23.
The fact that offside is not actually black and white and that VAR offside graphics are open to different interpretations by fans is far from ideal for the Premier League. But that is the situation and therefore controversy will no doubt continue.
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