this is a stupid logic. panucci clashed with buffon and
got injured. he did not walk off the field. how can
someone injured outside the field be considered onside?
i seriously doubt anyone on or off the field can instantly
read that situation correctly as onside.
Sometimes you do see in matches where a member of the defending
team goes down injured in his half and inadvertently plays the
offensive team onside. How would the referee at that instant
know whether the player actually sustained injuries or not when the
game was going at a neckbreaking speed? This actually applies
the same logic as the above situation.
Perhaps the fault should not lie in the referee for interpreting
the rules to the letter, but rather on the part of the Italian
defence for not knowing the rules well. Had the Italians
stuck to RVN and not tried to spring the offside trap instead under
such a situation, they might have prevented that goal.