Refereeing chiefs and their UEFA counterparts have
joined forces to insist the Swedish officials who allowed Ruud van
Nistelrooy's controversial goal against Italy made the right
decision.
Van Nistelrooy scored Holland's opener in a 3-0 win on Monday
from what appeared to be a clear offside position, diverting Wesley
Sneijder's shot home from close range.
The Italians were furious and their fans reacted angrily when
they saw replays on the big screen outside the Stade de Suisse in
Berne. Dutch players expected it to be disallowed but there was no
flag from linesman Stefan Wittberg and referee Peter Frojdfeldt
indicated a goal.
Sportsmail's refereeing expert Graham Poll branded the decision
an 'indefensible error ' by Wi t t b e r g but yesterday UEFA
general secretary David Taylor applauded Frojdfeldt and his
assistant for making the right call. Taylor pointed to Law 11, the
offside law in the rules of the game, and the fact that Italy
defender Christian Panucci had been bundled from the pitch by his
own goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon.
Panucci was lying injured at least a yard out of play but was
still technically 'active' and, therefore, he and Buffon had played
van Nistelrooy onside. 'Not many people, even in the game - and I
include the players - know this interpretation,' said Taylor.
'Even though the defender was off the field because of his
momentum, he is still deemed to be part of the game and is
therefore taken into consideration as one of the last two defending
players.
'As a result Ruud van Nistelrooy was not nearer the opponents'
goal-line than the second last defender and therefore could not be
in an offside position.'
Taylor admitted the law does not confront this issue 'directly'
- in fact, it does not confront it at all - but he claimed this
interpretation was common knowledge among referees, stopping
players from deliberately stepping off the pitch to catch an
opponent offside.
Barclays Premier League referees' boss Keith Hackett backed
Taylor's viewpoint, as did Gerhard Kapl of the Austrian Refereeing
Commission, who said the decision was '100 per cent correct'.
Hackett said: 'The fact is the assistant was correct, the
defender off the field is still regarded as active. Panucci went
off through contact with his own goalkeeper. He is still considered
part of the game.'
Taylor quoted a similar incident in a Swiss league game between
FC Basel and Sion last season when a TV commentator made a public
apology for not knowing the rules.
