Manchester City's goal against Aston Villa would be penalised for offside in future

ByReuters

Updated 26/01/2021 at 19:29 GMT

The situation that led to Bernardo Silva's controversial goal for Manchester City against Aston Villa last week will be penalised in the future, the Premier League and referees' association said on Tuesday. Aston Villa manager Dean Smith was unhappy the goal was allowed to stand as Rodri was in an offside before he challenged to win the ball.

Dean Smith is sent off | Manchester City v Aston Villa

Image credit: Getty Images

Referees have been given clarification over the rule that saw Manchester City's controversial goal against Aston Villa allowed to stand - and it would now be disallowed in the future.

Silva scored the opener in last week's 2-0 win when his team mate Rodri came back into play from an offside position before taking the ball off Tyrone Mings to set up the goal, which led to furious protests and a red card for Villa manager Dean Smith.

Smith, who was charged, banned and fined for his protests, questioned the different interpretations of the "obscure law" and the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) sought to clear things up with the sport's law makers, IFAB.

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"Where a player in an offside position immediately impacts on an opponent who has deliberately played the ball, the match officials should prioritise challenging an opponent for the ball," the league said in a statement.

"Thus the offside offence of 'interfering with an opponent by impacting on the opponent's ability to play the ball' should be penalised.

"Accordingly, if a similar situation to the one involving Rodri's impact on Mings occurred in a future match, then the impact would be penalised for offside."

Referees have faced criticism this season, especially Video Assistant Referees (VAR), over the application of the offside rule, while the lack of clarity on the interpretation of the handball rule has also led to confusion among players and managers.

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