Aston Villa saw Clement Lenglet’s goal ruled out during a 2-1 Europa Conference League win against AZ Alkmaar at Villa Park.
Aston Villa thought they had taken the lead when defender Clement Lenglet found the back of the net only for it to be instead ruled offside.
Ultimately it didn’t matter in the end, as Villa walked out 2-1 winners at Villa Park, a stadium which earlier in the night, Ron Vlaar said ‘breathes football’.
Fans couldn’t quite believe their eyes as the goal was chalked off, as one fan posted the question on X: “Wait why is it offside if the defender headed it off the line? Or am I being stupid”.
While a second shared the sentiment and was also bewildered as he asked on X: “Does anyone understand offside anymore? I thought if the defender deliberately played the ball then it wouldn’t be offside.”
Due to the confusion, we decided to investigate why it was offside, by looking at the rules of the game.
Why was Aston Villa’s goal offside?
According to the FA’s rules of the game, ruling for an offside was the correct decision, here’s why…
“A player in an offside position receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately played* the ball, including by deliberate handball, is not considered to have gained an advantage, unless it was a deliberate save by any opponent.”
“A ‘save’ is when a player stops, or attempts to stop, a ball which is going into or very close to the goal with any part of the body except the hands/arms (unless the goalkeeper within the penalty area).”
Therefore, the Alkmaar defender was assumed to have made a ‘deliberate save’ according to the laws when he headed the ball back out with Leon Bailey recycling play.
A truly baffling decision before learning of this unheard-of rule which we are sure many won’t have been aware of prior to tonight.
