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Marcus Rashford was offside according to the FIFA rulebook and Manchester United’s equaliser should not have stood.
Manchester United came from behind to beat rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the Premier League but it was not without controversy.
The Red Devils equalised in the 78th minute through Bruno Fernandes but the integrity of the goal has been brought into question.
United forward Marcus Rashford appeared to have interfered with play from an offside position which led to the linesman immediately flagging it to rule off the goal but upon discussions with the VAR, centre referee Stuart Atwell overturned the initial decision to award the goal.
The controversial play
With Manchester United chasing the game and looking for an equaliser, Casemiro played a through ball intended for Marcus Rashford who was clearly in an offside position.
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The English forward didn’t seem to be aware of his offside status and chased down the ball with the intention to have a shot at goal but he was beaten to it by his teammate, Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes made a run from the opposite direction and was onside when he made the crucial connection to finish and equalise for Manchester United in the 78th minute.
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The goal was instantly ruled off by the linesman because of Rashford’s involvement, leading to protests from Fernandes and his teammates.
Centre referee, Stuart Atwell would eventually overrule his linesman’s decision in controversial fashion to award the goal but here is why his decision was wrong and Fernandes’ goal should not have stood.
Why Marcus Rashford was offside
An excerpt from offside section of the FIFA rulebook sheds more light on the situation and proves indeed that Rashford was offside.
The excerpt reads, “A player can also influence play without touching the ball and so should be given offside if the referee feels that their offside position has interfered with an opponent - for example by preventing the opponent from playing the ball or by obstructing a goalkeeper’s line of vision.”
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Going by this, Rashford interfered with play in that goal because he chased the ball and although he didn’t touch it, his presence aided the safe passage of the ball to Bruno who scored.
It is more than likely that Manuel Akanji would have intercepted Casemiro’s pass before it even got to the goalscorer but Rashford’s run shielded the ball and stopped that from happening.
The decision to award the goal was clearly the wrong one and proved to be the turning point in the Manchester Derby which Manchester United went on to win 2-1 with Rashford scoring the winner.
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