An offside decision in the European Championship opener between Italy and Turkey has become a big talking point on social media, with many debating whether it was or wasn’t the right call.
In the 46th minute of the Group A clash on Friday night, Italy forward Lorenzo Insigne decided to take a short corner to teammate Domenico Berardi, who was standing behind the goal-line.
Berardi then sprayed a pass to midfielder Jorginho but moments later, play was stopped when the linesman raised his flag for offside in a decision that baffled many watching at home.
This offside call against Italy 😅 pic.twitter.com/OS9p50Fo1L
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 11, 2021
Italy with the worst corner ever lmfao offside pic.twitter.com/DQy89xjKv0
— GC (@VaIverdeSZN) June 11, 2021
It’s official. The refs don’t know the rules. Italy was just called offside from a corner. https://t.co/AMjHTvXWWl pic.twitter.com/6nfJGxpHCW
— FPL_Dragoon (@DragoonFpl) June 11, 2021
So we went from everything being a handball, to nothing being a handball. Ok.
Referees don’t know how to make rules.
— FPL_Dragoon (@DragoonFpl) June 11, 2021
Am I twisted or are there no offsides direct from corners? Why did the lino flag italy there
— Luke Rogers (@saiint) June 11, 2021
I don’t know if Italy being offside from a corner was the best thing ever or the fact they went to do it again before the linesman explained the rules to them.
— Steve Harrison (@The2020) June 11, 2021
Many questioned whether you can be offside from a corner or not, with the general rule being that there is no offence if a player receives the ball directly from a corner-kick.
ESPN editor Dale Johnson has since tried to clear up the incident.
“So amid all the discussion over this offside decision… the key thing is that Berardi is BEHIND the ball when it’s played.” he wrote on his official Twitter account.
“That’s the only reason he’s onside. You he CAN be offside in this move. But he was behind the ball on the pass. Back to a bad decision!”
In terms of the result, Roberto Mancini’s Italy side romped to a 3-0 win against Turkey in the Euro opener thanks to goals from Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne and an own goal from Merih Demiral.