Dribble
Well-Known Member
To refine what you said, there's another interpretation which is if the ball hits the players hand, which controls it enough for him to score, or assist a direct goal scoring opportunity, OR the ball deflects off the hand/arm scoring a goal or assisting the scoring player, the goal should be disallowed.
However, all of this is open to ridiculous interpretation, namely phases. If the deflects off an arm & results in a goal, or deflects off an arm into the path of a team mate to score, I'd swallow that. The deflection from Laporte may have gone to Jesus, but look at the world class control needed, & how many players he had pass & avoid to score?
In my opinion, Jesus wasn't presented with a clear opportunity to score, he made that goal all by himself. Also, would the ball have deviated any further if it didn't touch Laporte's arm?
In terms of 'phases'; when did the crossing phase end? When the ball came to Jesus, or when he had an attempt? For instance, let's say the attempt by Jesus had struck the post, been controlled by Mahrez, passed back to Jesus who then scored. Where do the.phases begin & end?
Apparently Stockley House tried to explain this one to PL Clubs in the summer. By all accounts those in attendance were as baffled with this ruling when they left, as they were when they left, because so much was open to human interpretation.
I firmly support VAR, but I'm now of the view it should only be used for clear & obvious errors, & not to determine the length of a players' armpit hair. If there is no way a human could tell in real time, the benefit of the doubt should be given, instead of using lines at 50 fps on blurry TV images.
If a referee has clearly missed an offside or a handball, then VAR should assist. If only the use if VAR using AI & the law of averages can spot an infringement, then again the benefit of the doubt should go to the limit of what a human could reasonably be expected to spot.
VAR is now separating top flight football, from the rest of the global game, which is worrying. Offsides, should be clear & obvious. Handballs in the area should be for deflected goals, or a deflected ball leading directly to a goal. There wasn't enough of a deviation from Laporte arm which made the handball easy to spot in real time, & Jesus had too much to do to have directly benefitted from the slightest of touches.
What VAR should have done was shown if there was there a goal scoring advantage because of the handball, or would Jesus have scored without the touch by Laporte anyway. I believe the outcome would have been the same. In a reasonable world, the goal should have stood.
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