Man Utd 2-1 Man City: Rules expert explains why Marcus Rashford was not interfering | OneFootball

Marcus Rashford was not interfering with play and allowing Bruno Fernandes’ goal to stand during Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City was the correct decision.

That’s according to football rules expert Christina Unkel, a former FIFA referee.

Speaking on CBS Sports after United’s victory at Old Trafford, Unkel explained why officials got the decision right.

Many football fans were baffled by the decision to overrule the initial decision.

Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola said after the game: “The decision is they didn’t believe Rashford was intervening in this stadium. This is Old Trafford, we have to play much better. Like Anfield, we have to do better.”

Rashford was clearly in an offside position during the passage of play and while the England international didn’t appear to get a touch on the ball, surely his presence had an impact on the goal being scored?

While that might be the case, the right decision was still made, according to Unkel.

Was Marcus Rashford interfering? Answer: apparently not

The Laws of the Game expert said: “A cheeky call but the right call for why Rashford was *not* flagged for offside leading up to the Fernandes goal.

“In offside there are two parts: are you in an offside position? The answer here for Rashford is yes. However, did you commit an offside infraction? The answer is no.

“There are actually four different types of offside infractions.

“Here the only two things we are looking for are whether or not he interfered with an opponent, or he interfered with the play.

“When the ball was threaded through [Rashford] had no impact on that first defender and the defender trailing with Fernandes was also not impacting meaning in the interfering of a physical component and preventing them from being able to defend the ball.

“So, therefore, all we’re looking at… did he interfere with play? The VAR is only looking for whether or not Rashford actually made contact on the ball. The answer is no, he never touches the ball, and therefore we keep our flag down and wait and see.

“Fernandes puts the ball in the net and it’s the correct decision by the officials for no offside against Rashford.”

Video: Rules expert explains why Rashford was not interfering

Watch the video here:

Let’s check out some of the reaction:

So, there you have it. It was the right decision, after all.

While the law itself will still baffle many, the officials working on the game at Old Trafford simply applied it correctly.