Eberechi Eze's disallowed free-kick for Crystal Palace against Chelsea has left football fans scratching their heads.
Eze thought he had fired the Eagles into a 13th-minute lead at Stamford Bridge, when his thumping drive beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, much to the delight of Oliver Glasner and Palace's travelling fans.
However, shortly after the celebrations, VAR official James Bell communicated to referee Darren England that he believed a foul had been committed during the set-piece.
Why was Eze's free-kick ruled out against Chelsea?
With some confusion as to why Palace's opener had been ruled out, referee England was advised to look again, via the on-field monitor, at what officials believed had been a foul by Marc Guehi.
And correct they were, with Guehi pushing Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo to create a gap for the ball to fly through, and, in doing so, had moved too close to the Chelsea wall when the ball was hit by Eze.
England opted to rule out the goal after consulting the monitor and announced the decision at Stamford Bridge. He said: "After review, the Crystal Palace No.6 [Guehi] is less than one metre away from the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore, it's an indirect free-kick and a disallowed goal."
Funnily enough, it appears as if Chelsea have gotten away with this in the past, during last season's 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella and Tosin Adarabioyo were standing within a metre of the Bournemouth wall, yet a goal was given when Reece James found the net with 96 minutes played. The goal should have been ruled out.
Palace manager Glasner shared his frustrations after the full-time whistle, admitting there has to be greater consistency when it comes to the ruling around the wall and the distances permitted.
"I know we have to be one yard away from the wall," he said. "I think maybe we have a situation where we sometimes try to block like everybody's doing. And, obviously, the block started too early.
"But the Premier League has to be careful when they disallow these kind of goals. Because I think in every direct free-kick, there are blocks somewhere around the wall. But, of course, we have to accept it because that's the rule.
"I was a little bit surprised, because VAR is treated or handled very, very cautiously here in England, which I really appreciate. It's always about supporting the referee's own field decision.
"My great team, who is always watching all the set-plays, will watch it again and find a solution so that in the next case it won't happen again that the goal is disallowed, and then we can celebrate and hopefully win."
Should the goal have stood, or were the officials correct in this instance? Let us know in the comments...
