Offside position by just a few centimetres, an irregular position that was almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye by the referee and his assistant. It was the VAR that put an end to the celebrations of Venezia and its fans, who had erupted in celebration after Lauberbach's first-half opener against Inter. It took several minutes for the decisive signal to reach the referee from the VAR room: referee Luca Pairetto's raised arm and his other hand indicating the spot of the infringement interrupted the enthusiasm of the home team.
Why was Lauberbach's goal disallowed?
The dynamics of the action, at the normal speed of the game, do not allow for an immediate understanding of what actually happened on the field. Even when the action is reviewed through virtual footage, it is difficult to distinguish the millimeters that constitute the violation.
The goal came after a free kick awarded to the home team due to a foul committed by Bastoni. In that case, the black and blue defender was also punished with a yellow card. Kike Perez's shot was deflected off the barrier and surprised Provedel. The goalkeeper seemed defeated by the trajectory of the ball, but managed to react with excellent reflexes: he stretched out and cleared the ball with his hand, but the ball remained near the danger zone. Lauberbach reacted faster than anyone and sent the ball into the net. But Venezia's joy was short-lived. The VAR room did not give approval to referee Pairetto.
A huge disappointment, but the decision, although it may leave doubts due to the minimal difference, is in accordance with the regulation for determining the offside position: “A player is in an offside position if any part of the head, body or feet, including the shoulder or any other part of the body with which a goal is scored, is in the opponents' half of the field, excluding the halfway line, and is nearer to the opponents' goal line than the ball and the penultimate opponent. The hands and arms of all players, including goalkeepers, are not taken into account. For the purpose of determining the offside position, the upper limit of the arm coincides with the lower part of the armpit.”
In the VAR room, it seems, the frame that, for a very small difference, cost Venezia dearly has been found. German Lauberbach was in an offside position for a minimal part of his shoulder.
Lauberbach also stopped by bad luck
The bitterness and bad luck came together again a little later, when Venezia came close to scoring the equalizer once again, again with the German player. In this case, luck was not on his side either. You only have to watch the action to understand what happened: Helgason crossed from the left wing, while Lauberbach found the space and the right moment to position himself and immediately hit with his left. Provedel's intervention was decisive: the ball hit the crossbar.
