Unrest in Sclessin: Adriano Bertaccini’s equalizing goal (2-2) was refused for offside. A decision misunderstood by the arbitration expert Serge Gumienny!
“It shouldn’t even be a difficult phase,” says former Belgian referee Gumienny. He pointed out that it was strange that the equalizer was disallowed, as he said Bertaccini had not taken a direct advantage from his offside position.
“For me it’s very simple. Standard’s goalkeeper, Matthieu Epolo, first moved towards the ball, controlled it and turned around. So he had control of the ball, which means that a new phase begins.”
Thus, the expert suggests that the referee should have recognized this control and awarded the goal: “Bertaccini was offside, that is undeniable, but he is not directly in a duel with the goalkeeper.”
An injustice?
“He only participates in the game after the goalkeeper has controlled the ball,” Gumienny continues. He considers it unfair that the goal was disallowed due to the goalkeeper’s clumsy action, which would, according to him, have no impact on the offside rule.
The former referee also criticizes the role of VAR, which did not call referee Kevin Van Damme on screen for a review: “It actually shouldn’t be a difficult phase, because this rule is taught to the referees from the start”, he underlines. “He definitely should have called it on screen in this case,” concludes Gumienny.
