Middlesbrough v Brighton opening goal

[happy whistler]

Middlesbrough first goal interesting as when free kick taken player who scored is in offside position. Team mate wins header at far post and heads across the goal to player who was in offside position when ball played but now onside, who scores.
Now if team mates header had rebounded off post, bar or defender then according to present laws he would have been offside and goal disallowed but because ball went directly to him then goal OK.
Does seem a bit of an anomaly and how many of us would have disallowed similar goal if we were officiating ?

 

[RustyRef]

That isn't right. Once the player at the far post heads the ball it becomes totally irrelevant where the player in the middle was stood when the cross came in. If the header hit the bar or keeper and then went to the attacker who was offside when the cross came in it would still be a goal.

He would and could only be penalised for offside if he scored directly from the original cross himself or the cross rebounded to him from the goal frame (or less likely keeper), or he knocked it in directly from the cross, or he prevented the keeper or other defenders from playing the ball whilst he was in an offside position.

Offside is only judged from the final pass, cross, header, etc, not one previously.

 

[CapnBloodbeard]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if his presence is affecting the position of the keeper, then isn't that now a potential case for offside from the initial kick under the new laws?

but agree with RustyRef - your interpretation of the existing laws is a bit off! Where are you getting the idea that if the teammate headed it into the crossbar and to the attacker it would be offside?

 

[Peter Grove]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if his presence is affecting the position of the keeper, then isn't that now a potential case for offside from the initial kick under the new laws?

but agree with RustyRef - your interpretation of the existing laws is a bit off! Where are you getting the idea that if the teammate headed it into the crossbar and to the attacker it would be offside?

If the OP is referring to the game played roughly a month ago, there was no headed ball involved - the ball was passed (kicked) across by Nugent to Stuani. Not that it makes any difference. As others have said, whether it was kicked or headed, Stuani was not offside and would not have been even if it had come off the bar. Stuani's position on the original free kick had no effect on the keeper, he was almost on the edge of the area and in no way infringing the law even under the latest guidelines on what constitutes an offside offence.