Sky Sports pundits Hal Robson-Kanu and Courtney Sweetman-Kirk were in agreement that Sheffield United’s winning goal against Bristol City shouldn’t have stood because striker Billy Sharp was standing in an offside position before Iliman Ndiaye provided the finishing touch.
Ndiaye’s 49th-minute header decided a tight contest at Ashton Gate in what was one of only four attempts on Max O’Leary’s net by the Blades, but ultimately secured the three points for the visitors.
As a cross was sent in by James McAtee, Sharp was standing the wrong side of Zak Vyner with no other defender between him and O’Leary, a position he held as he jumped to compete for the header while also delivering a subtle shove to the back, forcing the City centre-back to miscue his clearance behind him, with George Tanner also coming across to challenge the veteran.
Sharp didn't touch the ball, with Vyner’s header then finding Ndiaye who converted past O’Leary from close range. And while the assistant's flag remained by his side, with City's appeals also minimal, because Sharp had been directly influencing play, by challenging and pushing Vyner and therefore causing the mistake, the feeling post-match was that referee Stephen Martin should have disallowed it.
Nigel Pearson didn’t want to go into detail around the decisions that went against his City team, stating, “I think he was offside but there we go; that’s not my job to get that right,” and repeated the line later on when asked if Oliver Norwood should have seen red for a high lunge on Joe Williams, for which the midfielder wasn’t even booked.
But the matter was debated in the Sky Sports studio between presenter David Prutton and analysts Sheffield United Women’s forward Sweetman-Kirk and former Wales and Derby County striker Robson-Kanu.
“It’s offside,” said Sweetman-Kirk. “In terms of when Billy goes for the ball and he jumps, he’s offside and, yes, he doesn’t touch it but he affects play.”
“Without doubt, it’s clearly offside and he’s in an offside position,” Robson-Kanu added. “The build up to the play, at this moment in time there are three defenders against three attackers and there should be a simple man-on-man situation where nobody is free inside the box but as the build-up goes on, the ball comes in and Sharp is clearly offside.
“Unfortunately Tanner makes a decision to go to Billy Sharp which leaves Ndiaye in acres of space, inside of the box, and in the end it’s a simple finish.”
Under the laws of the game as published on the FA website, a player in an offside position, "can be penalised on becoming involved in active play when they are, challenging an opponent for the ball or clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.”
With no VAR in the Championship there was no mechanism to challenge the decision. Pearson has been a consistent voice for wanting more technology to help officials in the EFL but a report in August declared that the governing body are not looking to fast-track VAR into leagues outside the Premier League although a more cost-effective “VAR-light”, with less cameras used, is being discussed.
City have already received one letter of apology this season from the PGMOL over two erroneous decisions at Hull City which cost them three points.
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