Premier League: Calls for offside 'grey area' to be addressed after controversial decisions impact both Liverpool and Tottenham

Liverpool supporters were left aggrieved on Saturday as a grey area in the offside rule hit them for a second game in a row - adding weight to the argument that officials must bring clarity to their decision-making in such situations.

Nottingham Forest scored a controversial goal at Anfield just 13 days after Arne Slot's side had seen a Virgil van Dijk header at Man City disallowed in similar circumstances.

The issue of how officials interpret whether a player is impacting an opponent when stood in front of or near a goalkeeper was again on the agenda on Sunday, when Eberechi Eze converted Arsenal's second against Tottenham with Guglielmo Vicario seemingly unsighted by both Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi.

Liverpool lost both matches 3-0 and Tottenham were beaten 4-1 at Arsenal - but with the incidents coming at crucial moments in each game, Reds boss Arne Slot and Spurs head coach Thomas Frank can point to inconsistency costing their teams.

Your Views: Revelatory ideas to solve offside problems

John L: "If you are in an offside position in the penalty area, you are offside. Even if you are not interfering with play. Outside the box if you are not interfering with play, play on. Then we won't have these different decisions."

Tarquin: "Anyone in an offside position is offside! Regardless of where you are. As Brian Clough once said, if you're not interfering with play, what are you doing on the pitch?"

Jim: "VAR shouldn't get involved at all. On-field decisions only. It's been de-skilling the officials since it came in. There was never this much controversy without it."

Chris: "If you're offside in the six-yard box, you're offside. That close to goal you are interfering with play just by being there. Also, in general, just use the players feet for the offside lines. If they lean, they lean."

AF: "Any player that is within the frame of the goal should be deemed active whether he touches the ball or not therefore its upon the player to stay in an onside position. That would solve the "grey area"

Robloves: "Post to post to ball is a clear triangle - any opposing player in an offside position within that triangle, regardless of line of sight, should be offside."

Jake: "Have we thought at all that the rule isn't the issue? Subjectivity is fine as long as the outcome is consistent, but they allowed two clearly offside goals and disallowed a clearly onside goal."

The official line on these situations

Speaking about Van Dijk's disallowed goal at Man City - when Andy Robertson was deemed to have impacted goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from an offside position - PGMOL boss Howard Webb said:

"The officials have to make a judgement, did that clear action impact on the goalkeeper and his ability to save the ball? That's where the subjectivity comes into play."

He went on to say "it's not unreasonable to understand why [the officials] would form that conclusion when the player is so close to the goalkeeper, the ball is coming right towards him and he has to duck to get out of the way."

Dan Ndoye adjusted his body position to avoid Murillo's shot from an offside position on Saturday but a statement from the Premier League Match Centre said Ndoye "was not in the line of vision of [Liverpool goalkeeper] Alisson and did not make an action that impacted an opponent."

On Eze's goal against Tottenham, when both Trossard and Zubimendi were in front of their team-mate and beyond the Tottenham defence, the Premier League Match Centre said: "it [was] deemed that there were no Arsenal players in the line of vision of the goalkeeper, and they made no movement to impact an opponent while in an offside position."

Discussing the Arsenal goal on Ref Watch, pundit Jay Bothroyd said: "That's probably the worst decision. They are directly in the keeper's eyeline. When I saw that, straight away I said that would be offside."

Have officials adapted their approach after Van Dijk's disallowed goal?

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher suggested on Ref Watch officials may have adapted their approach to such situations, following the scrutiny of Van Dijk's disallowed goal at Man City.

"Last week it was said the Liverpool goal should have been a goal," he said. "This week two have been given as goals. You could say everyone has looked and learnt.

"They haven't been inconsistent. They have actually recognised and thought in this situation the more acceptable situation is a goal.

"They have actually given people what they want."

There has been no official statement from PGMOL or Webb to say referees have been instructed to approach these situations differently.

However, Gallagher says clarification to the rules is now required.

"The grey area for this kind of incident is too wide. We are at the behest of the officials on the day.

"It's so subjective and it is too loose. There is no defining barriers like handball.

"If you tighten this up, people might not like it, but we'd accept it. At the moment, people are saying this has happened to our team this week and this has happened to our team this week.

"Liverpool feel aggrieved at both decisions."

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Premier League: Calls for offside 'grey area' to be addressed after controversial decisions impact both Liverpool and Tottenham