Was it a “controlled play” by Union Berlin’s Aissa Laidouni before Leipzig’s 2: 2 was denied or not? Referee Daniel Schlager justified his decision with the changed rule interpretation – RB coach Marco Rose has the new criteria on his side.
Yussuf Poulsen’s goal to make Leipzig 2-2 in the 2-1 defeat by Union Berlin was disallowed for offside by Timo Werner, although Union’s Aissa Laidouni had been on the ball before that. The midfielder had heeled a high ball behind his back.
For FIFA referee Daniel Schlager, who used to be a football player himself at a higher junior level, after the intervention of VAR Tobias Reichel and his own video study in the review area, it was “no controlled playing of the ball”. Only after a “controlled, intentional” action by the opponent – this addition clarified the rule interpretation of “intentional play” from Rule 11 in summer 2022 – is an offside position not punishable. It didn’t matter whether the controlled action failed and then looked uncontrolled, as in the case of Laidouni, or not.
Referee decision in Leipzig
Circular no. 26 of July 27, 2022 was written by the international, superordinate regulatory authority IFAB on the subject of clarifying the guidelines for the distinction between “deliberate action” and “deflected ball”. It says in the German version, among other things: “If the pass, the attempt to gain possession of the ball, or the release by the player who could control the ball is inaccurate or fails, this does not change the fact that the player played the ball ‘on purpose’.”
“He wants to clear the ball with his heel in a controlled manner,” Rose pleaded for a wrong decision, also with a view to Laidouni’s abilities as a Bundesliga professional and Tunisian international. Even if, in addition to Schlager, Union coach Urs Fischer opposed it and saw an “uncontrolled movement”, the vast majority of the criteria specifically written for such cases support Rose’s view.
Laidouni was undisturbed, not in a duel, did not clear the ball outside the penalty area with teammates behind him in a defensive action in “great need” and did not deflect the ball, which clearly changed direction. All of these are criteria for “controlled play” set out in a DFB paper from the summer of 2022. The following criteria from IFAB Circular 26 are also met: “The player had a clear view of the ball and time to coordinate his body movements.”
Even chief referee Fröhlich is not entirely sure
Nevertheless, referee chief Lutz Michael Fröhlich remained in conversation with kicker on Sunday to rate Schlager’s decision as justifiable. But the 65-year-old also said he understood “all the arguments” in this case. Fröhlich is obviously not quite sure about his rating, because he will discuss this special scene, which there is hardly anything comparable to right away because of the heel action, with those responsible for other associations, such as the English one, and at the UEFA referee symposium in March put up for discussion.
Overall, the current interpretation of this rule does not correspond to the meaning of the game, because it leads to more offside positions and thus prevents more goals. In addition, the changes were not properly communicated by the IFAB last summer, there were addenda and therefore different German wording in DFB and IFAB papers. That didn’t make it any easier for the referees, but under Fröhlich’s responsibility a uniform line and handling can still be expected from the Bundesliga referees.
