U22 Vietnam scored a controversial goal against U22 Laos thanks to the new offside rule.

Dinh Bac scored a double, U22 Vietnam easily defeated U22 Laos

In the 60th minute of the match between U22 Vietnam and U22 Laos yesterday afternoon (December 3), at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok (Thailand), Dinh Bac scored a goal against U22 Laos.

The first assistant referee raised his flag to signal that a Vietnamese player was in an offside position. The reason was that when Dinh Bac kicked the ball, U22 Vietnam striker Quoc Viet was in an offside position, at the moment Quoc Viet jumped to avoid the ball.

It seemed that this was the reason why this goal was not recognized. However, immediately after that, the main referee Rustam Lutfullin (Uzbekistan) came to discuss with his assistant, deciding to recognize the goal for Dinh Bac in particular and U22 Vietnam in general.

The real controversy broke out between the U22 Vietnam team and the referee (before the goal was recognized) and between the U22 Laos team and the referee (after the goal was recognized). As a result, the coaches Kim Sang Sik and Ha Hyeok Jun of each side each received a yellow card.

Speaking to Dan Tri reporter, a very famous former FIFA referee of Vietnamese football explained: "Actually, both the main referee and the first assistant referee did the right thing in the situation where Dinh Bac scored the second goal for U22 Vietnam in the 60th minute."

“The first assistant referee did the right thing because it is his job to raise the offside flag when he sees a player in an offside position.

"Referee Rustam Lutfullin made the right decision in his final decision on the goal, based on his observation angle, based on the application of the new regulations of the Offside Law announced by FIFA, and based on the authority of a referee (who has the right to veto the decision of the assistant referee)," the former Vietnamese FIFA referee added.

According to the former Vietnamese FIFA referee, the new FIFA offside rule was the key point that led to Uzbek referee Rustam Lutfullin recognizing Nguyen Dinh Bac's goal.

He analyzed: "This new regulation clearly states that once a player falls into an offside position but does not participate in the play and does not affect the goalkeeper's activities, the attacking team is still not considered offside."

“Here, Dinh Bac shot straight and Quoc Viet actively jumped to avoid the ball, meaning Quoc Viet did not participate in Dinh Bac's shot. Next, Quoc Viet was still very far from the 5m50 area of the Laos U22 team's goalkeeper.

In the above position, Quoc Viet also did not affect the goalkeeper of the U22 Laos team, so the main referee did not catch Quoc Viet's offside error and recognized the goal for U22 Vietnam as valid.

As for the referee and assistant referee discussing the situation in detail and for a long time, it is normal in a match without VAR technology. In matches without VAR, the referee will consult carefully with the assistants, consulting the perspectives of many different people, before making a decision," the former FIFA referee emphasized.

Thanks to Dinh Bac's goal, U22 Vietnam beat U22 Laos 2-1, temporarily leading Group B of men's football at SEA Games 33.