In the 20th round of the Premier League, Liverpool drew 2-2 away to Fulham. Among them, Florian Wirtz's goal suspected of being offside sparked controversy. Premier League legends Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer unanimously believed that Wirtz's goal should have been ruled offside first during a podcast.
Alan Shearer said: “In football matches, it's often these subtle decisions that are discussed. It's this marginal call that allowed their Wirtz's goal to be counted as valid, because when I saw that footage, I thought it was offside.”
Gary Lineker responded: “That decision was really absurd, wasn't it? The line on the pitch seems precise... Maybe that line was a bit off? I don't know. After all, they use this automated system that we try to trust.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher also agreed with the two during the live commentary of the game: “In my opinion, he was offside. He seemed to be in a more advanced position. I know the camera angle can be deceptive sometimes, but since we can still use the penalty spot as a reference, I really can't believe this goal was allowed to stand.”
Former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer also expressed the same view during the live broadcast: “Looking back at that Liverpool goal, every frame of the paused footage looks offside. This decision is really strange.”
Even Wirtz himself was not sure after the game: “I was convinced it was offside at that time, so I didn't even celebrate. I'm happy for the goal, but I would have preferred to take all three points.”
Liverpool seemed to have almost secured the three points when Cody Gakpo made it 2-1 in the 94th minute. But before the final whistle, Harrison Reed suddenly took a shot and fired a world-class strike from 25 yards out to equalize the score.
