Fans were convinced Cristiano Ronaldo was offside on goal even after VAR
Fans were convinced Cristiano Ronaldo was offside on goal even after VAR
Cristiano Ronaldo is still featuring for the Portugal national team at 40 years old, and on Wednesday, he had yet another signature moment in his legendary career.
And, of course, it came with some controversy.
With Portugal taking on Germany in the UEFA Nations League semifinal at Allianz Arena in Munich, both Nuno Mendes and Ronaldo broke free behind the German defense in the 68th minute. Mendes made a decisive pass over to Ronaldo who tapped in the go-ahead goal.
Immediately, we saw as Germany was pleading for an offside call. The flag remained down in real time, and replays suggested that Ronaldo may have been ahead of the ball in an offside position.
Another look:
The UEFA Nations League, though, was using the semi-automated VAR technology we saw in the World Cup. And in a matter of seconds, Ronaldo's goal was upheld. This was the digital mapping of the play that came in, showing Ronaldo was behind the ball at the time of the pass.
Oddly enough, the VAR image looked awfully different from what fans were looking at on the broadcast. And sure, the camera positioning may have had Ronaldo looking offside when he wasn't. But that's the exact kind of goal we see ruled off in VAR with manually drawn lines all the time.
The semi-automated system almost certainly got the call right, but that didn't convince everyone.
This was how Twitter/X reacted
Portugal will face the winner of Spain-France in Sunday's final.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
37 minutes ago
- CNN
Teenage superstar Lamine Yamal stars as Spain beats France in Nations League semifinal goalfest
Before a ball was even kicked on Thursday, the UEFA Nations League semifinal between France and Spain was billed as a clash of two modern greats, and the match certainly didn't disappoint. Inspired by the likes of teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, La Roja managed to get the better of the goalfest, beating Les Bleus 5-4 in an all-time classic. The result means Spain will progress through to the final where it will face Portugal on June 8. The nine-goal thriller, the highest scoring match in the tournament's short history, is perhaps less surprising when you consider the number of world-class forwards on the pitch. France boasted attacking talents such as Kylian Mbappé, as well as Champions League heroes Désiré Doué and Ousmane Dembélé, but it was 17-year-old Spanish star Yamal who once again stole the show. The teenager scored two goals in the match and produced another memorable performance which has perhaps convinced even more people of his Ballon d'Or credentials. 'When two great teams like this play, you sometimes see a lot of goals,' Yamal said after the match. 'They will make you suffer until the end, but we went to the final despite the mistakes we made. We were aware of what we wanted to do. We wanted to make history. The greatest thing when you are winning is to keep winning.' The youngster had a part to play in Spain's opening goal, beating his man on the right wing before crossing into the box. The ball was brilliantly held up by Mikel Oyarzabal before the striker teed up Nico Williams who rifled his finish into the roof of the net in the 22nd minute. Just three minutes later and the Euro 2024 champions had doubled their lead. Oyarzabal once again provided the assist, but this time it was Arsenal man Mikel Merino who produced the finish as Spain took a 2-0 lead going into the break. The second half saw more free-flowing attacking play and Yamal soon got on the scoresheet. The winger was brought down in the box and stepped up to take the subsequent penalty. Despite his age, Yamal looked confident before passing his spotkick into the back of the net in the 53rd minute. Two minutes later and France found itself 4-0 down, after midfielder Pedri produced a wonderfully chipped finish to seemingly put the game to bed. But it was then time for France and Mbappé to take center stage. The Real Madrid striker responded with a penalty of his own in the 59th minute to cut the deficit to 4-1. But the French revival was cut short by Yamal, after the youngster raced onto a through ball to poke Spain 5-1 ahead. Perhaps confident of the victory, Spain seemed to take its foot off the gas which opened the door for a possible comeback from Les Bleus. Debutant Rayan Cherki scored the goal of the game in the 79th minute, with his sweetly struck volley making it 5-2. An own-goal from Spain's Dani Vivian then gave France a glimmer of hope in the closing stages and the comeback was almost complete when Randal Kolo Muani made it 5-4 in added time. But France simply ran out of time and looked frustrated when the referee blew his whistle for full-time. 'We had some bursts of play we haven't had for a long time,' Mbappé said after the game, trying to sum up the frantic 90 minutes. 'But in just 10 minutes of the first half, we conceded two goals – and the same thing happened in the second half.' Spain's win now sets up a brilliant all-Iberian final against Portugal, which will see 17-year-old Yamal come up against 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in a battle of two generational greats.
CNN
37 minutes ago
- CNN
Soccer players given two-game bans after concealing anti-homophobia badge
Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17, which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. 'In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football…' Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
Soccer players given two-game bans after concealing anti-homophobia badge
Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Nemanja Matic and Le Havre striker Ahmed Hassan have each been handed two-game bans with a further two matches suspended after they concealed Ligue 1's anti-homophobia insignia on their shirts, the French top-flight said. Serbian Matic, 36, had put on a tape over the anti-homophobia badge when he came on as a substitute during Lyon's 2-0 home win over Angers on May 17, which was the final day of the Ligue 1 season. His Lyon contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Egyptian Hassan, 32, also received the same punishment, with the incident having occurred during Le Havre's 3-2 win at Strasbourg. 'In addition, the committee proposed to the player - who immediately accepted at the meeting - that he take part, within six months, in a campaign to raise awareness of the fight against homophobia in football…' Ligue 1 said in a statement on Thursday. Ligue 1 had planned for players to wear rainbow-coloured symbols on shirts or armbands and display messages in stadiums as part of its annual awareness drive. Yet participation has been uneven in recent years, with some players citing personal or religious reasons for opting out.
