How can this be offside? Huge fuss about the disallowed BVB goal

It was a scene that left perplexed faces. Niclas Füllkrug headed a free-kick cross from substitute Marco Reus into the opponent’s goal in the 77th minute of the second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven to make it 2-0. But referee Daniele Orsato overturned the goal after contact with the video assistant and ruled it offside.

However, this decision caused debate. Because the BVB striker was only offside with his arm. A body part that you can’t score a hit with, right? Füllkrug himself was also at a loss after the game. “You can’t score a goal with your arm. “Why is it offside?” he asked DAZN. “You can only be offside with parts of your body that can be used to score goals,” he said in the mixed zone.

Background to the Orsato decision: A few years ago the definition of what a handball is was adjusted. It now states that only contact with the ball with the arm below the armpit counts as a handball. Anything above that is considered a shoulder and therefore not a handball.

However, Füllkrug was offside with a small part of his upper arm, which is attributed to the shoulder, so it was a punishable offside.

However, the striker himself saw no offense even after studying the pictures. “This is not offside. For me this is not offside. Now define shoulder, where does the shoulder go?” He confirmed: “Well, if I look at it that way, I would say no, if I’m honest.”

BVB coach Edin Terzic held back his opinion after the game. “What Niclas or I say about the scene is of no use. The referee made that decision.”

In the end, the tricky scene fortunately had no influence on Dortmund’s progress. “I’m not going to get upset about it or criticize anything, I don’t really care,” Füllkrug explained at the end.