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Sánchez Goal Ruled Out After Millimetre Offside in ColombiaPortugal Draw

Semi-automated VAR showed a fraction of Sánchez’s boot ahead, prompting calls for a clear margin-of-error in offside decisions.

Overview

  • Late in the match on Saturday, Davinson Sánchez headed what looked like a winning goal but the assistant flagged and VAR intervened to review the play.
  • VAR’s semi-automated offside technology drew lines that showed the tip of Sánchez’s right boot ahead by an almost imperceptible amount, and referee Alireza Faghani confirmed the offside.
  • The sequence began with a corner that was recycled into a cross, which reset the offside line because there is no offside directly from a corner kick.
  • The disallowed goal left the game 0-0, kept Colombia top of Group K, and set Colombia to face Ghana in the Round of 32 on July 3 at Arrowhead Stadium.
  • Broadcasters, fans, and analysts reacted strongly to the tiny margin and have renewed proposals such as a visible 'daylight' or margin-of-error standard to prevent millimetre-level calls from deciding matches.