Referee Artur Soares Dias may have made a big mistake in the Manchester City game last night in the build-up to Kevin De Bruyne’s equaliser.
Why did Man City’s goal not get disallowed vs Real Madrid?
It was a thrilling first-leg encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night as Real Madrid played host to Pep Guardiola and co.
Meeting in the Champions League semi-final, both teams showed flashes of brilliance as the game ended 1-1. Indeed, Vinicius Junior scored a stunner in the first half to fire Madrid into the lead, but City gave their hopes of making the final a massive boost when De Bruyne rifled home an equaliser in the 67th minute of the game.
However, it seems as though that goal should have potentially been disallowed as the ball appeared to have crossed the line shortly before Man City had it in the back of the net.
Indeed, as seen in these images shared on ESPN, it looks as though the ball may have gone out – and so play should have been immediately stopped.
When speaking to the press after the game, Madrid’s manager Carlo Ancelotti seemed furious about the incident as he said: “It was out. It’s not me saying it, the technology does.
“It surprises me. They’re small details, but the referee wasn’t attentive. The players deserved more cards on the pitch, not [me] off the pitch.”
However, it’s since been reasoned that VAR could not actually intervene with this incident as too much time had passed after the incident took place.
Rule expert Christina Unkel explained on CBS Sports: “There’s two points to remember with VAR in the protocol and process on this. Can VAR check for a ball going outside before a goal? The answer is yes. But the most important point here is at what part can VAR become involved?”
“There is no set amount of time before a goal we go back to check. Instead, it’s really predicated by the possession and who has possession of the ball. We can debate, we can have the question to whether the ball left [the field].
The real answer is, this actually would not have been captured in the window and the time frame for when VAR could have gone back to take a look from when De Bruyne scored that goal. Specifically, because there was a turnover in possession.
“Even if this was out, it would not have been reviewed by the VAR leading to the goal.”
And so, while this may not have been an error on behalf of VAR – as Ancelotti suggests – it still doesn’t change the fact that referee Soares Dias and his officials still should have been able to spot the ball going out in the initial passage of play.
With the tie so tight, this mistake could have a huge impact on who makes the Champions League final this year.