Iran’s centerback Shoja Khalilzadeh scored a goal in stoppage time against Egypt, but it was disallowed after a lengthy VAR review. The goal was ruled out for offside, much to the dismay of Iranian players and supporters.
Offside Law Explained
The offside law, as maintained by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), states that a player is in an offside position if they are closer to the opponent’s goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent. In this case, the Egyptian goalkeeper had vacated his net, making the last opponent the defender Yassir Ibrahim and the second-last opponent Hamza Abdelkarim. Khalilzadeh was marginally beyond Abdelkarim, resulting in the offside call.
The game finished 1-1, and Iran will have to wait for Saturday’s results to determine whether they will advance to the knockout phase. Iran is currently sixth out of the 12 third-place finishers, but their position is tenuous, and they could be overtaken by other teams.
Original reporting: All Sports Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
