The first episode of the Serie A season to be analyzed by replays comes from the Meazza and from the match where Inter defeated Monza with convincing figures 4-1. In the spotlight is the goal of the black and blue team with Calhanoglu's long-range shot, which surprised Pizzignacco. The point of debate is the offside position of Bisseck and the fact that he may have been in the trajectory of the shot, preventing the goalkeeper from properly understanding the direction of the ball. Why was the goal awarded, despite the possible obstruction of vision?
Bisseck in offside position in Calhanoglu's goal, controversy over his position
The rule is clear, especially in cases where a player actively participates in the game by “interfering” by obstructing the trajectory of the winning shot and preventing the goalkeeper from reading it. In these cases, the goal must be disallowed without question, even if the player in the offside position does not touch the ball. However, the assessment of how much the view is obstructed is at the discretion of the referee, who may be called by the VAR for an On-Field Review.
Why wasn't the goal disallowed?
No doubt about the referee, who thus assessed that Bisseck's position did not affect the goalkeeper's ability to react. Although the Inter defender moved — which confirms that the ball was coming exactly in his position — one must consider where the shot came from. First of all, both Calhanoglu and Bisseck were far from the goal, while the latter was not in the penalty area. Of course, he was in the trajectory of the ball, but Pizzignacco could clearly see the ball's departure.
Luca Marelli's explanation
A concept explained by Luca Marelli, expert on refereeing situations at DAZN, who highlighted: “In Calhanoglu’s shot, Bisseck tries in every way to avoid contact with the ball. In recent years we have seen that goals were often disallowed due to offside, when the player was in the goalkeeper’s line of sight. As you can see, above all from the wide view of the field, from above, in Calhanoglu’s shot the goalkeeper never loses contact with the ball, because the ball passes to the right of the Inter player, Bisseck, and never obstructs the Monza goalkeeper’s view of the ball, which is why the goal is legal.”
Things would have gone differently if the defender had been much closer to the Monza goalkeeper. For example, if he had been in the "small area" and had fully influenced the view, there would have been no doubt about the cancellation.
