The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel has concluded that the video assistant referee did not err in awarding Florian Wirtz’s goal for Liverpool during their match against Fulham.
With Liverpool trailing 1-0 at Craven Cottage in the 57th minute, Wirtz seized a pass from Connor Bradley to find the net. Initially, the assistant referee raised his flag for offside against the German player.
However, VAR Andy Madley intervened and confirmed the goal using the semi-automated offside technology (SAOT).
Wirtz benefited from a tolerance margin of five centimeters, commonly referred to as thicker lines, which is part of the Premier League’s implementation of SAOT.
If the same goal had occurred in Germany, Italy, or Spain, it would have been disallowed, as these leagues do not utilize any tolerance level.
The decision was contentious, as television images appeared to suggest Wirtz was significantly ahead of the last defender.
Despite the controversy, the KMI Panel unanimously supported Madley’s decision, stating: “The VAR intervention to award the goal was deemed correct, considering the narrow margin of the offside call and the thicker lines applied for such close situations.”
The match ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw, with Fulham manager Marco Silva calling Wirtz’s goal “a clear offside” and seeking clarification on the decision.
Silva noted the club had reached out to Professional Game Match Officials to lodge a complaint.
According to BBC Sport, the discrepancy in the offside decision centers around the frame selected by the broadcaster.
The VAR used the moment when Bradley made contact with the ball, rather than when it left his foot, while the broadcaster froze the image one frame later, which created the misleading impression that Wirtz was offside.