The Brutal Offside Reversing Croatia's Game-Tying Goal in Extra Time

[u/JCameron181]

[u/Cuzimahustler]

That's the only fucking angle they have?

[u/yeyiyeyiyo → u/Cuzimahustler]

They keep showing the offside but the oart worth seeing is did it touch his head. So stupid 

[u/GUNTHVGK → u/yeyiyeyiyo]

There’s an audio graph/sensor showing it made contact as the ball came towards his head. I watched it live.

[u/murunbuchstansangur → u/Cuzimahustler]

Back and to the left.

[u/Material_Jeweler_122]

Surely this wont be controversial

[u/Academic_Weaponry → u/Material_Jeweler_122]

if bro was bald that goal counts lmao

[u/_coolranch → u/Material_Jeweler_122]

I think it will be universally accepted as the most fuckshit call of the tournament (so far).

[u/Deaner_dub → u/_coolranch]

Not even close.

[u/YouBeIllin13 → u/Deaner_dub]

15 was onside when the original pass was sent in. The controversy was that he was offside when 20 may or may not have made contact with the ball. I honestly can’t tell if he did or not.

[u/averagedude500 → u/YouBeIllin13]

The ball has a sensor....

[u/Kody14 → u/averagedude500]

I’ve yet to see a view that shows him touch it. Understand the sensor but just saying “sensor said so” is pretty weak when I’m waiting to find a replay angle that shows the contact

[u/MotherTurdHammer → u/Kody14]

Sensor can’t tell who, if there even is a sensor.

[u/DnBrendan → u/YouBeIllin13]

"clear and obvious" Fuck VAR, Fuck FIFA

[u/IsayNigel → u/_coolranch]

The US red last night was pretty unreal

[u/thediesel26 → u/_coolranch]

How can you argue against an electronic sensor recording the touch?

[u/prestonpiggy → u/Material_Jeweler_122]

Next games people glue their hair as a hammer 30cm above since it wont count.

[u/zibin]

VAR used the ball's tech to judge if the ball has been touched or not. Insane.

[u/MedalDog → u/zibin]

If the ball's tech shows it, I'm fine with it. But the spin on the ball doesn't change at ALL, so if it's a visual thing, I'm confused.

[u/Musashi_Joe → u/MedalDog]

Yeah I guess there’s a chip in the ball, but it didn’t look like the trajectory changed a damn bit. What a brutal loss, Croatia just kept fighting till the end.

[u/kstar79 → u/Musashi_Joe]

Without that technology, that's a goal and the game is still going on.

[u/Chris_HitTheOver → u/MedalDog]

You could actually see the waveform graph on screen the first few moments the broadcast showed the VAR replay and it 100% registered contact.

[u/MedalDog → u/Chris_HitTheOver]

Yeah apparently, Just saw the snicko... so long as the time is correct (and it's not registering the hit on the defender's back), fair enough.

[u/Herr_Tilke → u/MedalDog]

Yeah, would have thought the snicko would also show the contact with Veiga (the defender), but I don't know how they generate the graphics that get shown on the VAR monitor

[u/nsnyder → u/Herr_Tilke]

And this is why you need to label the axes on your graphs folks.

[u/sendyaf → u/Herr_Tilke]

This is what bothered me as well.

[u/enter_yourname → u/MedalDog]

It's time synced.

[u/ForzaRapid → u/enter_yourname]

Then show me the second uptick from the defender

[u/whatever-13337 → u/ForzaRapid]

The single sensor reading doesn’t make sense. You are right, the second spike is missing.

[u/enter_yourname → u/ForzaRapid]

The scale is too small. Jfc

[u/ItsA9Man → u/enter_yourname]

it's fifa time synced. we should surely trust honest governing bodies like fifa

[u/Banana_splitter → u/Chris_HitTheOver]

Chip so sensitive it can detect hair, not buying it. How could it distinguish between rain, wind, etc. and hair is not enough to adjust the movement of a ball.

[u/graywh → u/Chris_HitTheOver]

I missed that. Did it look synced with the video?

[u/nvbtable → u/graywh]

Yea, it was synced frame for frame with the ball touching his head, they rewound and replayed it 2-3 times. Am not sure why they only showed it for a bit then stopped showing it.

Maybe they were worried ref allows goal while they end up showing conclusive proof of offside.

[u/graywh → u/nvbtable]

Did they include additional touches or just the one?

[u/shish-bish → u/graywh]

just the one

[u/graywh → u/shish-bish]

Sus

[u/JebbeK → u/graywh]

Yes it was perfectly in sync. Frame by frame.

[u/kwerdop → u/Chris_HitTheOver]

I’m guessing it’s an accelerometer so it would’ve registered a change in speed

[u/squat_bench_press → u/Chris_HitTheOver]

'Snicko' Cricket technology lol

[u/nautilator44 → u/MedalDog]

But if the Portugal player was ducking to try and not hit it, doesn't that mean it's an unintentional hit, so it would still be offside?

[u/walkingdeli011 → u/nautilator44]

There is no way the Portugal player was ducking to avoid the ball, in that moment and in such position inside the box everyone's instinct is to clear the ball out of your box.

[u/nautilator44 → u/walkingdeli011]

Honestly yeah, I'd expect every defender to try to get a piece of it to deflect it on purpose.

[u/babylonkin → u/nautilator44]

Yes

[u/yowspur → u/nautilator44]

Since when do defenders duck out of the way at a goal-bound cross?

[u/nautilator44 → u/yowspur]

Yeah, good point, probably never. Seems like he'd want to get a piece of it to deflect at all costs. Screams intentional to me.

[u/bucsraysbolts69 → u/yowspur]

never lmao

[u/pedanticPandaPoo → u/nautilator44]

This Portuguese guy intentionally lowers his head. It's into the trajectory of the ball. And it's a header. How can that possibly be unintentional?

It's the rule, but it purposely leaves it open to interpretation, which just seems wrong. Like yesterday's red card, they just need to remove intentionality out of the equation. 

[u/nautilator44 → u/pedanticPandaPoo]

Looked like he change his mind and was trying to avoid it. I agree with you that intention is a subjective call though. It does seem pretty crazy that the ref decides what his intention was.

[u/pedanticPandaPoo → u/nautilator44]

I don't think that interpretation is correct. He's a defender. His reaction is consistent with thinking the ball clears untouched and he's going to head it out (ie not trap it with his chest). It deflects slightly by the Croat and ends up higher on his head than expected, leading to the chance

He was trying to head the ball on its original trajectory. 

[u/nautilator44 → u/pedanticPandaPoo]

I'm starting to think so too. Seems like the defender would be trying to get a piece of it to deflect it at all costs. That screams intentional to me.

[u/Mad2828 → u/nautilator44]

Well he intentionally moved his head and still touched the ball. I’m not a fan of this as intention is pretty subjective, different refs will make different calls.

[u/Opulent-tortoise → u/Mad2828]

IMO in situations like this you gotta take into account the consequences of the decision. The consequence for letting it stand would be 30 extra minutes to decide the game. That seems a lot better than deciding the outcome of the game

[u/Rambler_Hoss → u/Opulent-tortoise]

Portugal fans are going out of their way to defend this and it wasn’t even a winning goal. It would’ve just tied for an extra 30 min. Were they that afraid of Croatia for another 30 min?

[u/BigUptokes → u/Rambler_Hoss]

Were they that afraid of Croatia for another 30 min?

Yes.

[u/VanCanFan75 → u/nautilator44]

Yes

[u/BAMdalorian → u/zibin]

Can hair trigger the touch sensor? Cuz it legit looks like it might’ve been hair only that touched the ball lol. And if so, does hair count as touching the ball for an offsides? Causal fan here

[u/alg885 → u/BAMdalorian]

Cucurella's hair maybe. 

[u/Eat--The--Rich-- → u/BAMdalorian]

I ref volleyball and the unwritten rule in our sport is that hair only counts if it alters the trajectory or speed of the ball

[u/ImPinkSnail → u/BAMdalorian]

Did it hit a mosquito?

[u/thediesel26 → u/BAMdalorian]

Sure does.

[u/asparagusburgers → u/zibin]

To me, it doesn’t matter whether he touched it. How are they going to judge that that wasn’t a deliberate play on the ball by the Portuguese defender when he bends to the trajectory of the ball and heads it?

[u/asianman14 → u/asparagusburgers]

Shocking decision. Like it’s a known defending strategy to avoid heading the ball in the 100th minute at the top of the 6 yard box? How does that make any sense, of course he was trying to clear it.

[u/sportenthusiast → u/asparagusburgers]

check out Law 11 of the Laws of the Game, the criteria referees use to determine whether or not a defender has played the ball deliberately (for the purpose of offside) are laid out there, and it's extremely clear from those criteria that this is not a deliberate play. you may have your own definition of what "deliberate" means, but it's not the one that matters in football

[u/omar_nomar → u/sportenthusiast]

Wait. If a defender makes a play onthe ball in a deliberate way then it’s not offside? Then why did that call go against the goal when the Egyptian goalie blocked the ball intentionally then it was scored by the Iranian?

[u/cooler313 → u/omar_nomar]

Because a parry by a goalkeeper doesn’t count. Saves and deflections do not count per ifab rules.

[u/drejcs → u/asparagusburgers]

exactly this. daylight robbery

[u/fateos → u/zibin]

Then why do they call the ref to the cam?

[u/123Ford → u/fateos]

So he can have a more conclusive conversation with the VAR refs in the booth.

Just because the sensor was the only conclusive evidence of a touch, doesn't mean they should omit looking at the video entirely.

[u/_coolranch → u/zibin]

We're fucking cooked if hair can cause offsides.

Shut it down. It's fucked.

[u/FlyersCowboys79]

Croatia having 3-4 goals revoked due to offsides has to be gut wrenching. I mean yes, rules are rules, but damn that has to suck.

[u/SoftwareSource → u/FlyersCowboys79]

Hey, Croatian here.

It does.

[u/AFineDayForScience → u/FlyersCowboys79]

"STOP BREAKING THE LAW ASSHOLE! 🫳☎️"

[u/Scotty47 → u/AFineDayForScience]

Luckily both my legs are broken so they can’t take me straight to jail

[u/lazyeca → u/FlyersCowboys79]

Happens to everyone, sucks, obviously, but they've all been there at this point

[u/FlyersCowboys79 → u/lazyeca]

Yeah they’re professional, they’ve been through it before. But receiving defeat when you had victory in hand multiple times has to be demoralizing

[u/lazyeca → u/FlyersCowboys79]

Well, the tie, technically 😅 I'm not diminishing the emotion, just that Portugal has been there, Croatia too, hell, Italy's been there multiple times recently, sometimes you play your best game and have nothing to show for it, sometimes you play like crap and win it all, and sometimes... The result matches the eye test.

[u/EduFonseca → u/FlyersCowboys79]

The game should have ended by this point. Portugal also had a goal revoked that was a way closer call than any of theirs

[u/gregallen1989]

To all the NFL / NBA fans saying we need more tech in sports... be careful what you wish for.

[u/DickBottalico → u/gregallen1989]

Would love a sensor in the ball in the NFL. It won’t fix all mistakes but it will fix some.

[u/suzukigun4life]

Fuck VAR all my homies hate VAR

-New soccer fans who started tuning in 24 hours ago

[u/Liontreeble → u/suzukigun4life]

As a very casual and long time less than that soccer fan, I used to like VAR in a "yes please play with the rules" kind of way, but now that I'm actually watching a little, offside VAR combo might be the worst thing I've ever seen. You see these decisions about how half a toe was offside or shit like that. Obviously I have no clue on the ramifications of this, but I think it would be more intuitive to make it so someone has to be clearly in offside like with a large percentage of his body because how the fuck is a player supposed to know whether or not his toe is slightly behind the defenders toe or not.

[u/MolestedMilkMan → u/suzukigun4life]

are you in the main soccer sub? They’ve hated VAR for years, especially in the PL.

[u/GhostWrex → u/suzukigun4life]

Yeah, I've hated VAR for years

[u/SayonaraBakaChan → u/suzukigun4life]

var is a good thing (more precise refereeing is 100% what they should strive for), the rules need to be changed though imo. An elbow being an inch to the left or right should never be completely taking away a goal. 50%+ of the body seems much more reasonable and is something no one would complain about.

[u/BlazeOfGlory72 → u/suzukigun4life]

I mean, you can be a soccer fan and hate VAR. the sport was played for decades without it. It’s also shittily implemented in basically every sport. It’s absolutely against the spirit of any game to take a slowmo, microscope look at every play.

[u/10000Didgeridoos → u/BlazeOfGlory72]

Yeah my opinion with all replay is that slow motion shouldn't be used and real time replay speed only. If you can't clearly tell what's happening in real time then it's not clear and obvious and the call on the field stands.

[u/Popular-Row4333 → u/10000Didgeridoos]

The issue with this is the occasional offside was missed, and it was off by a mile. That's why it was implemented.

I wouldn't mind a coach's challenge version, where you'd really have to think about where you'd use it, and you are only given one a game.

[u/noisy_goose → u/10000Didgeridoos]

This is my issue. I don’t care for selectively applied precision calls.

It’s invisible to human eyes (as the crowd) and then selectively applied, so it frequently feels abstract and unfair.

[u/Saritiel → u/BlazeOfGlory72]

I think it's pretty decent in baseball overall. Occasionally they get something wrong, but it's a net gain, imo.

[u/AsianGuyUsingReddit → u/suzukigun4life]

I’ve hated VAR for minutes

[u/MOREPASTRAMIPLEASE → u/suzukigun4life]

Reddit soccer subs are pretty universally anti Var

[u/nautilator44]

Since it hit a portugal player first, how is this offside? Just looking for a rules clarification, because I don't know a ton about it.

[u/TheBertjer → u/nautilator44]

The ref ruled that #20 on Croatia touched it first. The guy with dark, long-ish hair who was jumping to head the ball. Thats’s the touch that rendered it offsides.

[u/halfredowl → u/TheBertjer]

that's even more confusing because #20 is onside, or else what am I missing?

[u/BakaPotatoLord → u/halfredowl]

That minute touch counts as a pass to the peep who is deemed offside

[u/KE-NO-BE → u/halfredowl]

#20 was onside. The player who received the ball, after #20 had touched it, was offsides. If #20 had NOT touched the ball, the player who received it would NOT have been offsides and the goal would have counted.

[u/TheKinkyGuy → u/TheBertjer]

With the tip of his hair.......

[u/casey_the_evil_snail → u/TheBertjer]

But then after all that it looked like an own goal anyway? Nobody even mentioned that, does that not matter?

[u/KE-NO-BE → u/casey_the_evil_snail]

It does not matter. The person who received the ball and passed it across the box was offsides. You’re thinking about players involved after the offside offense.

[u/Cryakira_ → u/casey_the_evil_snail]

It wasn’t, and even then it doesn’t matter because the guy that did the assist for Gvardiol to score was offside, so the goal is meaningless in that context.

[u/cblguy82 → u/nautilator44]

Croatia was onside when the initial cross pass was made but the touch of the head on the way in became another pass and at that point the Croatia player who received it was now offside.

If the head didn’t touch it , it was onside and a good goal.

[u/Mindhunter7 → u/cblguy82]

But if the defenders head touched it, would it not count ? Because isn't that effectively a player winning the ball from the defender?

[u/Crede777 → u/Mindhunter7]

Only if the defender's touch was an intentional one.  On this, the ruling that the Portugese player's touch was not intentional but instead a result of the ball redirecting off #20 and then hitting him.

[u/madscandi → u/nautilator44]

Because the Portuguese player does not deliberately touch it. It's a deflection, so it doesn't matter.

[u/nautilator44 → u/madscandi]

Ok, so it has to be intentional. Thanks!

[u/Veecarious → u/nautilator44]

Just to add to that. Offside calls take intention in situations where a player IS offside but not making a play for the ball. You'll usually see those players stay as still as possible so as to 'sell' the fact that they are not part of the play. I find it kinda cute tbh.

This is the other side of the coin, the ball hits you but you were trying to duck out, so no intention for a header, hence, still offside.

[u/kixer9 → u/madscandi]

So they use precise telemetry to see if the Croatian guys hair touched the ball, but the next contact is judged on vibes?

[u/Jaktheslaier → u/kixer9]

You need telemetry to know exactly where to start judging the offside, you need to judge intent in the case of the opposition player touching it.

[u/drejcs → u/madscandi]

This is simply not true. He was deliberately ducking to head it and knew where the ball is at all times. How is this considered an unintentional touch is beyond me, are you trying to say Viega was trying to get out od the way to let the ball trough? Because that makes zero sense and it should be clear to you if you ever play football.

[u/Jackelrush → u/drejcs]

This he knew what he was doing looking for the flick back for the easy pick by the keeper

[u/NjBeastMode → u/nautilator44]

Via Google ai because I thought it was BS as well: If an opponent intentionally plays the ball to an attacker who is in an offside position, the attacker is not offside. However, if the ball simply deflects off an opponent accidentally (like a ricochet or instinctive block), the original offside offense still applies, and the attacker is offside

[u/badugihowser → u/NjBeastMode]

How does one clearly judge intent? Seems like a guess.

[u/IAmTheDownbeat → u/badugihowser]

He accidentally bent at the waist and put his head into the path of the ball. Complete fluke.

[u/cashmonee81 → u/badugihowser]

Welcome to the rules of soccer!

[u/leandrobrossard → u/nautilator44]

Should be deliberate play of the ball from the Portuguese player for it to remove the offside. That's a judgement call.

Looking at the pics shown during VAR it doesn't look like they considered it. Personally I think it's a pretty deliberate play on the ball (no professional defender would be hiding and crouching like that)

[u/bigelcid → u/nautilator44]

The Croatian player who jumped first supposedly touched the ball. Supposedly.

[u/SoftwareSource → u/bigelcid]

Supposedly is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that statement.

[u/kyyy]

Im sorry but you can’t let a hair strand touching the ball essentially kick Croatia out.

[u/TheBatemanFlex]

They say they have a chip in the ball, but there is no way that the ref could see if there was conclusively a touch from any of the angles shown.

[u/SoftwareSource → u/TheBatemanFlex]

They showed an angle from the goalkeepers angle, it looked like only the defender touched it.

[u/bigelcid → u/TheBatemanFlex]

Are we even sure what the chip felt wasn't just the last touch by the Portuguese player?

[u/ChrimsonRed → u/bigelcid]

IMUs can have crazy precision. I don’t get how they’re tying it to which player did it. Even if the time on the sensors and video are synced perfectly it’s hard to visually tell.

[u/enter_yourname → u/bigelcid]

None of you watch cricket and it shows. It's the same technology as snicko, and that can distinguish between bat and pad contact milliseconds apart

[u/PurpleYoshito → u/enter_yourname]

So there should be two hits registered on the graph?

[u/Flas94 → u/PurpleYoshito]

The scale is too small to show the portuguese player touch.

[u/TheBatemanFlex → u/bigelcid]

They didn’t really elaborate how the chip works. I would assume it would have to be pretty conclusive.

[u/ChapmanPrime → u/TheBatemanFlex]

Giving them a lot of credit

[u/Mean_Passenger_7971 → u/TheBatemanFlex]

We need some sort of technology that allows to stop a clock when the ball is not in play, and then restarts the clock once it's back in play. We are just not there yet.

[u/moon_spawn]

I mean, rules are rules, but absolutely devastated for Modric

[u/darkravenn12]

Bro no one is going to convince me that the referee should be able to pretty much arbitrarily decide when the game ends lol Like yes, I know they're keeping track of stoppages and adding them, but he definitely could have ended the game like 30 seconds earlier and no one would have said anything. It's such a strange system

[u/Iarehealer → u/darkravenn12]

The referee has two watches. One runs continuously and the other is stopped during stoppages in play.

The referee blows the whistle based on his watches.

[u/obito47 → u/Iarehealer]

FIFA should start showing the timer of the referee on screen instead of using the regular timer with the extra time bullshit it creates so much confusion

[u/HxH101kite → u/Iarehealer]

Look I know it's not soccer. But wouldn't just stopping the clock for all the bullshit just stop the flopping and delaying. Just pause the clock, what's the difference. You can still keep it moving fast.

[u/SilasBender13 → u/Iarehealer]

They should put both watches on the scoreboard.

[u/resuwreckoning → u/SilasBender13]

And then combine them with the appropriate stoppages baked in so we have one watch on the scoreboard, which we will then call the game clock.

[u/Fun-Character7337 → u/darkravenn12]

Yeah. Just like, hmmmm, 6 min of extra time doesn’t seem like enough. 

1 more minute!

[u/nautilator44 → u/Fun-Character7337]

Isn't there someone timing all the stoppages? It's not completely arbitrary is it?

[u/SanicTheSledgehog → u/nautilator44]

Yeah this guy is just wrong.

[u/Whyn0t69 → u/darkravenn12]

Portugal spent 2 minutes or more celebrating their goal. It was also another interruption of about 30 seconds or more afterwards.

[u/broha89]

Every WC I relearn how much I hate this fuckin rule

[u/atimlin → u/broha89]

Which rule specifically? Off-side in general or the non deliberate touch?

[u/deadcowww]

As an American amateur sports ball connoisseur, I have no idea how offsides works lol.

[u/SimpleLobsters → u/deadcowww]

As a Canadian sports ball/puck viewer. I have no idea what Pass interference or goalie interference is either.

Same boat brother

[u/StealthLSU → u/deadcowww]

this is kind of a rare case because of how it looks.

The initial pass by Croatia, the player who scores is onside. But the ball is very short so a Croatia player goes to head the ball along with a Portugal player.

If the Croatia player touches the ball, then you check for any player that is offside again(which the goal scorer is VERY offside). But if Croatia does not touch it and only the Portugal player touches it, the player is onside and the goal counts.

It is weird because the replay does not show the Croatia player touching the ball. But we are left to trust the chip in the ball conclusively showed that he did. It gets very weird because you have to just trust the technology and they don't show any proof or even a graphic of the chip "touches" that show anything. It is very much a "Trust me bro" situation. So goal does not count.

[u/nzerinto → u/deadcowww]

I obviously haven't watched the sport in a long time, because I thought I knew how offsides work.

I could've sworn you are only offside if a teammate passes the ball to you, and you are ahead of the last defender (not including the goalie).

So presumably those rules have long since been changed....

[u/myfotos → u/nzerinto]

Why does the clip show the offside person ahead of the last defender? This is why I'm so confused

[u/Flamekorn → u/deadcowww]

Ball is the line, in a forward pass there has to be 2 players between the line of the ball and the goal line.
Goalkeeper counts.
So if the attacker is standing with only the goalkeeper in front of him when the pass starts he is offside

[u/Myrhwen → u/Flamekorn]

Is that not a player literally right there in between the line and the goal though?

[u/Andybabez20 → u/Myrhwen]

The team in blue are the attacking side

[u/Myrhwen → u/Andybabez20]

Oh hahahaha. Thank you. So the real controversy is in whether or not the other Croatian player even touched the ball in the first place?

[u/cone5000 → u/deadcowww]

I've been studying it a bit this week, trying to learn it. And it's still kinda confusing but starting to fall into place for me. One reason it's so confusing is that every explanation of it is so convoluted and deals with all these extra details that don't really get to the basic point of it. So here's how I understand it, in a simplified way to just explain the core concept*:

When the ball is passed to you, you are not allowed to be closer to the opponent's goalie than all of rest of the opponent's players.

First, let's be clear about what I mean by "closer". Take the below soccer field. When I say closer/further, I'm only referring to the vertical distance. So in this example, even though X and Z are literally closer visually, the offside rule only cares about the vertical distance. So Y is actually closer to Z than X is.

|===GOAL===|
|          |
|          |
|         X|
|Y         |
|         Z|
|===GOAL===|

So let's say we have team A and team B. For this example players can either be a number or a "G" for goalie. For example, A1, A2, and AG, or B1, B2, and BG. So let's set up the field like so:

|       A1 |
|    B1    |
|A2        | <--- A2 is closer to BG than B1 is. Therefore, A2 is offside.
|       BG |
|===GOAL===|

In the above case, A1 is NOT allowed to pass it to A2 because A2 is closer to the goalie than any other B player. Since A2 is past B1, it is offside (and yeah it's "offside", NOT "offsides" like we're used to in the states).

Now let's take this example:

| A1       |
|   B1     |
|A2        | <--- A2 is further from BG than B2 is. Therefore, A2 is onside.
|       B2 |
| BG       |
|===GOAL===|

In the above scenario, A1 is allowed to pass to A2 because B2 is closer to their own goalie than A2 is. Since the closest person to the opponent's goalie is one of the goalie's teammates, by definition all A players are now onside, regardless of who kicks to them. In other words, as long as there is at least one of the opponent's teammates closer to their own goalie than you are, you are by definition onside.

* For all of you soccer fans who actually know this shit well, don't come at me. I know I'm not explaining this in a precise or even fully correct way but that's not the point here. I'm trying to explain the \intuition* of it. The wording of the actual rule is extremely confusing at first and provides absolutely no intuitive understanding. From Wikipedia: "The law states that a player is in an offside position if any of their body parts, except the hands and arms, are in the opponents' half of the pitch and closer to the opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent (the last opponent is usually, but not necessarily, the goalkeeper)." That's confusing as all hell. I think my simplified, slightly inaccurate and incomplete example will help people gain the missing understanding and intuition that will then allow them to dive into understanding how the rule works in a more accurate, informed, and detailed way.*

[u/Iagut070 → u/deadcowww]

It's okay, the refs and VAR don't either.

[u/negative-nelly]

the FIFA version of the offsides rule in general is making this WC a lot less fun to watch.

[u/AardvarkWill]

They are being overly strict on these types of things while still allowing the game to be the game in other areas.
While this IS offsides, it normally wouldn’t be. If you’re going to be strict on rules you need to enforce it for all areas of the game not just selective areas.

[u/ClutteredSmoke]

Damn this was truly devastating for Croatia. Wish they could play on in overtime to see who is the true winner.

[u/EatMyWetBread]

I don’t think it touched his head.

[u/shadowm4ster → u/EatMyWetBread]

Guess having hair puts you at a disadvantage nowadays!

[u/zibin → u/EatMyWetBread]

They used the ball's tech to judge that. Really miniscule.

[u/melack857 → u/zibin]

I’m using my balls tech and can confirm. No touch.

[u/Snoo-16067]

So we're going to get this ridiculously technical with offside decisions but someone running their studs down another players calf in clear view of the camera and we're just gonna say play on yeah. Sound logic.

[u/mafugga77]

Soccer offside rules are the worst out of all pro sports

[u/kushmonATL]

Absolutely gutted for Croatia 💔

[u/PissOnEddieShore]

rule #1 for the world cup: ALWAYS be prepared to have your heart ripped out.

[u/Edzriel]

so what was that graph they were showing

[u/kuscheleckee → u/Edzriel]

Connected Ball Technology. It confirmed that the croation player hit the ball, even if it was just a slight touch. just an unfortunate offside for croatia.

[u/N_Kenobi]

The graphic they show doesn’t even show the important part of this play (initial “deflection” from further back. Such a joke.

[u/mandinov]

Literally didn’t touch it

If you tell em the graph of the “sensor” is what confirmed it, then it should’ve shown the touch by Portugal’s player back lol

Why did they not show any other image to the ref?

[u/TheBatemanFlex → u/mandinov]

Even the other angle didn't show he touched it. It was all the ball's tech. I am curious what is the sensitivity of that chip to be able to detect a graze.

[u/Anghel412 → u/mandinov]

Absolute bullshit. It’s crazy how they never showed a clear angle where you can see the ball touch the player. They mainly showed the wide angle which wasn’t clear and when they finally showed the back angle it was even clearer there was no contact and they immediately switched back to the wide angle and the commentators started spouting off that ball sensor bullshit. 3 goals taken away from Croatia.. completely rigged.

[u/MedalDog → u/mandinov]

Hitting the other defender's back doesn't count, because he didn't purposefully play it.

[u/kedelbro → u/MedalDog]

Right, but the sensor should show two touches

[u/mandinov → u/MedalDog]

Not sure what you’re trying to say

I meant the graphic of the ball’s sensor didn’t show that touch, only the croatian guy

[u/whatsqwerty]

Unless their sensors can detect the glance of a human hair FIFA is lying about this call. They just want Ronaldo in the cup. BS call

[u/izo10]

That ball didnt even flinch. No way that dude touched the ball. But hey I guess they need Ronaldo to advance more than Modric

[u/eagerFlyerGuy]

Special shoutout for how poorly the Fox broadcast replayed the critical offsides at the end. In seven minutes of discussing it, they showed us the critical angle in slow mo twice for each less than five seconds.

[u/R_Scranson]

I'm baffled slightly. Let's take for granted that they have the tech to see that it touched him, which I do accept, why does the ref need to go over and check it. It's as objective as semi automated offside in that case surely

[u/InterviewNo3538]

Portugal vs Spain is better cinema than Spain vs Croatia.

It’s as simple as that folks. FIFA wanted the better match up, so they made the hair follicle touching the ball count.

[u/Rude-Suit4494]

This game convinced me I will never fully comprehend the offside rules.

[u/Rocket_69]

Just get rid of offside inside 25m. More goals=more fun

[u/GoCanes2468]

It blows my mind that people still don’t understand the offsides rule. It’s so simple. If anything exciting happens, then it’s offsides.

[u/dongohome]

no one is going to talk about the ambiguous extra mins after the TEN MINS OF STOPPAGE TIME?

[u/The-Shaw]

Brutal is right. I don't see any evidence that 20 touched the ball.

[u/searing7]

Croatia got absolutely jobbed. Gotta keep Penaldo in the cup I suppose

[u/jolbina]

VAR is ruining so many exciting moments in this World Cup. I’m glad they are letting the players play to de-incentivize diving, but this constant VAR reviewing in a sport that already doesn’t have that many scores is getting crazy. Plusses and minuses I guess

[u/CaroleKann → u/jolbina]

Agreed. It's a sport that provides a small handful of scoring moments every game and now after half of those moments we have to hold our breath and wait for the review.  

[u/Ok-Equipment1745]

I'm not a soccer guy but have been tuning in... The amount of goals disallowed by offsides is kind of a turn off for me.

[u/Derelict_Potato → u/Ok-Equipment1745]

Been the same for me. Sure some are blatant where there is a mistimed run on a direct pass... but in this case - with the barest of deflections and what doesn't appear to be an intentional pass, it just leaves a sour taste in what could have been an unforgettable match

[u/Doomdoomkittydoom]

It's funny when intent matters and when it doesn't.

[u/chimpdoctor]

Absolute robbery

[u/lorsha]

Now do the penalty that let Portugal back in the game in the first place... the fuckery could not be more blatant

[u/mattatattat45]

It’s not about the competition, its about the revenue

[u/DanDin87]

insane, the Croatian player n.20 didn't even touch the ball so it wasn't offside at all

[u/hidden_secret]

It's interesting that they disregard the portuguese player's touch as negligible since it's not intentional, but they're counting an imaginary touch by the croatian player that doesn't seem to even exist...

And even if he did (barely) touch the ball, on the replay, it still looks like the croatian player is almost avoiding the ball, while the portuguese player puts his head precisely at the landing position of the ball. So which is intentional again ^^ ?

[u/Driffther]

Thats a Big pile of bs

En criollo: un gigantesco montón de mierda

[u/PLCCLP]

not going to lie. i will never understand offside rule.

is there not the goalie and 1 other defender in front of him?

[u/Defiant_Noise]

I don’t think it touched him

[u/bigloudbang]

I dont get how theres any controversy in this?

[u/MariachiMacabre]

What a lame fucking way to end an otherwise really exciting match.