'He can't be punished': Dermot Gallagher gives his take on controversial disallowed goal for Newcastle United
Newcastle United were robbed of a goal at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night after Dan Burn nodded home a Sandro Tonali free-kick.
The referee's assistant soon had his flag up for offside after the ball hit the back of the net, and while Dan Burn was offside, there was no debate about that. Replays showed that he was only in an offside position because Manchester City defender Ruben Dias pushed him into one before the free-kick was taken.
The push should have been deemed a foul and punished by the referee, but instead the offside decision stood, and the goal was ruled out, condemning Newcastle to a 2-1 defeat on the night.
We looked at the rules from IFAB, and it clearly states that the foul should have been punished even though the ball wasn't technically in play, but Dermot Gallagher mustn't have read that part of the book.
Dermot Gallagher thinks the referee got it right with Dan Burn's disallowed goal
On Sky Sports' Ref Watch segment, former referee Dermot Gallagher and ex-striker Jay Bothroyd spoke about how it was clever play from Dias.
"This happened a couple of times this weekend, where players committed, probably a foul, before the ball's in play, so he can't be punished. He gives a little shove, then the ball's kicked in at that point, Dan Burn's in an offside position, impacting the move. It gets given offside, and there's nothing he can do. At that point, all he can do is tell the kicker to stop, wait and get back into position."
That was Gallagher's take, with Bothroyd gleefully chiming in about how it was great play from Dias.
Manchester City: "Egredi cum eo"
So. to refresh your memory, this is what the rules state:
• Foul/Penalty Awarded (No Offside): If the defender pushes the attacker into an offside position before the ball is played, and that push is considered a foul (careless, reckless, or using excessive force), the foul is penalised because it occurred before any potential offside offence.
If this happens inside the penalty area, the referee should award a penalty kick
We still think Man City got away with one, there. Although "getting away with it" should be on their badge these days.
