VIDEO: Fans convinced Man Utd’s first goal vs Aston Villa shouldn’t have been allowed as ‘unseen’ moment emerges.
Manchester United’s opening goal against Aston Villa has sparked debate among fans, with many questioning whether it should have been permitted.
Rasmus Hojlund opened the score for Erik ten Hag’s team early in the first half, firing in from close range after Harry Maguire’s header.
Scott McTominay then scored late to seal United’s triumph at Villa Park, after Douglas Luiz tied things up for the hosts.
United’s first goal, however, sparked some dispute.
Casemiro was offside at the free kick that preceded the corner.
The ball then sailed over the head of the Brazilian midfielder before being won by Raphael Varane, whose header bounced off Villa defender Clement Lenglet before being cleared for a corner, from which United scored.
You can view the incident below.
Casemiro was not flagged offside on the pitch, and VAR could not interfere because the corner was considered a different phase of play – and United did not score from the free kick either.
Villa fans were outraged by the assistant referee’s decision not to flag Casemiro offside, which would have awarded the hosts a free kick and prevented the goalscoring corner from being taken.
The Ifab rules of the game specify that a player is offside when they are ‘obviously attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent’ or’making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball’.
United fans argue that the ball was not close enough to Casemiro’s head to indicate a definite attempt to play the ball.
Meanwhile, Villa fans feel Casemiro’s jump interfered with the line of vision of both Lenglet and Diego Carlos, who were competing for the ball.
However, both perspectives are subjective, and the camera viewpoint does not definitively prove if either player was influenced by the Brazilian midfielder’s advances back towards play.
Should Casemiro have been declared offside, or was the on-field ruling correct? Please let us know in the comments.
