In a suspenseful UEFA Europa League match, Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 with Sporting at home. In stoppage time, Khalilani scored a superb goal, but the VAR technology ruled that his goal was invalid, and this decision immediately triggered a collective protest by the Spurs players. Among other things, the players argued around the referee, focusing on the offside controversy of Halikani. The moment became the turning point of the game when Carney received a header back from Amazon and the ball bounced to Carney's feet after hitting a Sporting player.
After the game, Tottenham defender Alejandro was caught questioning the ball witness: why was it ruled so? The ball was clearly passed backward! However, according to the rules, the direction of the pass has no bearing on the offside decision; it's the position of Carney at the time of Amazon's pass that counts - whether it's in front of or behind the ball. Despite the fact that Amazon was clearly in front of Carney, the ball was almost on the same level as Carney, and the VAR's pull screen, which was also based on the position of the ball and Carney, showed that Carney's knee was protruding, and was therefore ruled offside.
As for Amazon's header back, the ball changed direction after hitting the Sporting player, but as the Sporting player did not intend to pass the ball, this change again did not affect the offside decision.
