I now watch the game on replay. That goal look suspect as hell but...
Was Van Nistelrooy offside?Euro 2008
by Phil McNulty - BBC Sport (U1816352) 09 June 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2008/italy/7371086.stmRuud van Nistelrooy's opening goal for the Netherlands against Italy provided the first major talking point of Euro 2008.
Van Nistelrooy looked in an obvious offside position when he steered a close-range finish past Gianluigi Buffon to put the Dutch on the way to a crucial 3-0 win in Berne.
Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was gracious, saying: "I accept it. There's no point crying about it. The referee made a mistake. He's human."
Italy's fans, however, were not as forgiving after watching the incident replayed inside the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne.
But what looked a desperately poor decision was, in fact, a brilliant piece of officiating, according to the chairman of Austria's refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl.
Kapl said Van Nistelrooy was played onside by Italy's Christian Panucci, who had been injured seconds earlier and was lying behind the goal when the Dutch striker scored.
He said the goal was "100% correct, without any doubt", quoting article 11.4.1. of the refereeing code that states "an opposing player cannot be offside when one of the last two defenders has left the field of play" - as in the case of Panucci.
Kapl said the rule was specifically designed to prevent a team causing a deliberate offside - but does that tell the whole story?Panucci was in no way attempting to gain an advantage or deliberately trying to play the Holland attackers onside.He had actually been knocked behind the goal by a collision with his own goalkeeper Buffon, so where does the law stand on that?
It appears to be a grey area of the rules. Let us know your thoughts.