The Everton striker appeared to be in on offside position before scoring the Blues’ first goal.
The exact reason why Thierno Barry’s first goal against Manchester City was allowed to stand, and was not even reviewed by VAR, despite the player having appeared to have been offside, has been revealed by a leading PGMOL expert.
The Citizens looked set to close the gap to league leaders Arsenal down to three points on Monday night — with an extra game still to play — thanks to an excellent Jeremy Doku opener late in the first-half.
This all changed after a critical lapse in concentration from Marc Guehi in the 67th minute.
The England defender massively underhit an everyday backpass to Gianluigi Donnarumma, allowing Barry to steal the ball, and easily overcome the Man City keeper.
This kickstarted a 13-minute period — in which City conceded a further two goals — that has completely shaken up the 2025/26 title race.
The legitimacy of the opening goal, that began City’s decline, has been questioned by fans, on the basis that the French forward had appeared to have been offside, and interfering with play in the lead up to the interception.
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What does the Premier League’s rules say?
Although rules say that a player in an offside position, as Barry was, receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately played the ball, isn’t usually “considered to have gained an advantage,” this may not have completely ruled out at VAR review.
During post-match analysis on Sky Sports, the broadcaster pointed to rules regarding “interfering with an opponent” that could have impacted Barry’s goal, even though he received the ball from Guehi.
The rules state that a player can be ruled as offside in the following circumstances:
“A player moving from, or standing in, an offside position is in the way of an opponent and interferes with the movement of the opponent towards the ball this is an offside offence if it impacts on the ability of the opponent to play or challenge for the ball; if the player moves into the way of an opponent and impedes the opponent’s progress.”
Whether that interpretation of offside needed to be applied to Barry’s goal has been broken down by PGMOL expert and BBC football issues correspondent Dale Johnson.
He has revealed that referee Michael Oliver’s choice to allow the goal to stand was an “excellent decision.”
Detailing: “Marc Guehi was under no pressure by Thierno Barry, in an offside position.
“Guehi had full control and made a poor pass without the offside player impacting. This resets the offside phase and means Barry is no longer active.”
The decision was then the correct one to make.
The end result is that Manchester City will now have to hope Arsenal either lose a game, or draw two of their remaining two matches to have a good hope of winning this season’s title.
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