Wow Dick you dun it again.
The first goal for Holland was not offside.
A defender had left the field, albeit unintentionally, and in doing so had left the two Dutch players with only one player between them and the opponents goal line. Both players were seemingly in an offside position. Craig was right Kuyt was not involved in active play and the other Van Nistelrooy poked the ball in.
The player (Panucci) who left the field is deemed not to have left the field deliberately, because if he had the play would have continued and the goal allowed and Panucci would have been cautioned. As he was deemed to have left unintentionally he wasn’t cautioned but the rest of the decision making process followed.
That’s how referee’s are told to interpret the rules.
To help you further, would you have complained so loudly:
Had Panucci laid in the back of the net? (Hint: He’s still across the goal line and out of play.)
Had Panucci just stepped off as part of his run about a foot out of touch? (Hint: Distance has nothing to do with it, he is out.)
If you see a difference please tell me what it is. Also the fact that Panucci may have been hurt had nothing to do with it, the referee didn’t stop play for injury and didn’t caution Panucci for unsporting conduct, so Panucci was still part of the play and innocent of foul play.
Craig’s appeals to ignorance, “I don’t think a player around would know that rule” are really not good foundations for objections in interpretations of the law. Players generally do not have a clue about the laws.
