The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) took a closer look at Clint Dempsey's controversial second goal last week in Columbus and came to the same conclusion as many of those watching the game live. It shouldn't have counted.
In a summary by PRO training and development manager Paul Rejer, posted Wednesday on the PRO website, the reason why the play should have been ruled offside instead of the 75th-minute goal being allowed to stand was explained.
Though Dempsey was in an offside position when the ball was crossed into the box by Gonzalo Pineda (see below), Obafemi Martins was onside, which Rejer said allowed assistant referee to Jonathan Johnson to use the wait-and-see technique. In this case, Johnson correctly refrained from raising his flag when the ball went to Martins and not Dempsey, according to Rejer.
However, the issue arises when Martins takes a shot on goal with Dempsey still in an offside position (see below), slightly ahead of the ball.
Though Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark made the save, the rebound went directly to Dempsey, who then gained an advantage by being in an offside position.
As the law states, a player is in an offside position if he nearer to his opponents’ goal line than the ball and the second-to-last defender. In this case, Rejer said, Dempsey is in an offside position and the goal was incorrectly allowed to stand.
