Why Como coach Fabregas was wrong about disallowed 2-0 goal against Milan

Como coach Cesc Fabregas raged that a goal disallowed for the tightest margin of a shoulder is ‘simply not offside’ and criticised the system which chose the VAR frame in their defeat to Milan.

The Lariani were leading 1-0 at San Siro with Lucas Da Cunha’s goal and had the ball in the net for a second time with the same player, but it was disallowed using the Semi-Automatic Offside Technology (SAOT).

When the footage showed the computer-generated figure representing the scene, it became obvious this was perhaps the tightest offside in the history of the sport, because it was a sliver of Da Cunha’s shoulder that popped out.

Fabregas angry at disallowed Como goal

“Our bad luck is incredible this season, we are seeing last-gasp penalties, today a goal disallowed for a millimetre, which in my view is simply not offside. If they had stopped the camera when the ball had been played, that millimetre would be gone, it made no real difference to the goal,” said Fabregas on DAZN.

However, it was pointed out that the frame to measure the offside is not chosen by a Video Assistant Referee, but rather identified by the computer behind the SAOT.

When it was introduced, FIFA noted that the “system provides consistency in the placement of offside lines, especially in situations where the shoulder or top part of the arm determines the offside line.”

Both the kick point and the offside line are selected “automatically” by the technology, so the VAR’s role here is purely to inform the referee about the decision.

As for the argument that a shoulder should not be considered offside to disallow such an important goal, the rules here too are very clear.

“The offside line is drawn at the goalscoring body part of the second-last defender closest to the goal line.”

It is legal to score a goal with the top of the shoulder, therefore the offside ruling had to be made.