Bruno Fernandes’ goal in the Manchester derby has become quite the saga.
When the Manchester United star swept home his equaliser on Saturday, pretty much every football fan got the immediate impression that an offside Marcus Rashford had interfered with play.
The eventual match-winner had pretty much done everything aside from touch the ball, before Fernandes arrived on the scene and set the wheels in motion for a dramatic comeback from 1-0 down.
Should Fernandes’ goal vs Man City have stood?
Now, at the expense of stating the obvious, the result is signed, sealed and delivered, so there’s nothing that Manchester City fans can do to muster up any points from their trip to Old Trafford.
However, that doesn’t mean that their search for answers should simply come to an end because there’s understandable confusion amongst both City supporters and neutrals as to why the rules are such that a goal like Fernandes’ can stand.
As a result, fans have been scrounging around for expert insight on why both the on-pitch officials and VAR deemed that United had levelled the scores in a legal manner.
Christina Unke, a Laws of the Game expert and former FIFA referee, has already broken down why the correct decision was made and now an ex-Premier League match official come to the fore.
Would somebody who had been there, done that and managed some of the biggest Premier League fixtures of all use their first-hand knowledge to rally against the claims that Fernandes was legal? Sorry, City fans, but it’s a ‘no’.
What did ex-Premier League referee say about Fernandes’ goal?
That’s because Chris Foy, who officiated in England’s top-flight between 2001 and 2015, enjoyed something of a mic drop moment when penning his verdict on the incident in the Daily Mail.
Starting his column by openly opining: “I can see absolutely no reason why the goal should not have stood,” Foy then began to break down the processes and procedures that the officiating team at Old Trafford went through.
Foy explained: “Assistant Darren Cann raised his flag after Bruno Fernandes put the ball in the net, because Marcus Rashford had been in an offside position when the ball was played through.
“Referee Stuart Attwell consulted Cann and between them they agreed that Rashford had not touched the ball nor had any impact on a City player.
Tell us how you really feel, Chris.
All jokes aside, everything seems to point towards the match officials getting the decision right with the letter of the law seemingly concluding that Rashford was not interfering with the play.
Given that the United star essentially, though unintentionally, shepherds the ball towards the feet of Fernandes, it’s a little tough to take, but there will always be incidents that occur right on the boundary of legality.
And Foy most definitely feels as though Rashford didn’t ‘clearly impact’ on any of the City players’ ability to prevent Fernandes from potentially changing the course of the title race this season.
source: https://www.givemesport.com/
