Tottenham Hotspur at their White Hart Lane with 2-1 were better than Sunderland, but what confused many was the offside call by C. Foy who canceled Spurs’ clear goal.
Situation : Vertonghen scores a third but it won’t count! The corner saw Pantilimon race into the box, but it’s cleared by Spurs, who counter. Without the goalie in net, the ball is worked to the Belgian, who shoots from just above halfway and sees the ball go into the net, but he’s judged to be offside!
Watch Tottenham canceled Goal (offside)
Explanation
1. You can’t be offside if:
You receive the ball directly from a goal kick, a throw-in or a corner
You are in your own half of the pitch
You are level with the second last or last two opponents
You are level with or behind the ball
You are not actively involved in play, as explained above
2. Video highlights later showed the linesman telling the referee in his ear piece that there was only one player covering, therefore the player was offside.
But that ruling would only come into play if the defender was in the oppositions half when he was played the ball, with replays showing he was five-yards or so in his own half.