Football Federation Australia's senior referee advisor has come to the defence of the officials overseeing Sunday's A-League grand final, suggesting a controversial decision not to award Melbourne City a goal was correct
The A-League's referees advisor, Strebre Delovski, described the decision as an "open and shut case" of an offside infringement, leaping to the defence of referee Chris Beath.
According to the International Football Association Board, a player is deemed to be offside if; "preventing an opponent form playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision."Delovski says the goal was rightly ruled out as the officials had no doubt Wales blocked the line of sight of Redmayne.
"Based on the laws of the game, for the match official team, this is a clear case of obstructing the opponent's line of vision," Delovski said. Melbourne City's Harrison Delbridge shoots past Andrew Redmayne. It was ruled Lachlan Wales, centre, was in an offside position and was obstructing the view of Redmayne.Another controversial decision not to award Sydney FC a penalty was deemed to be a closer call. Sydney striker Adam Le Fondre fell inside the box after coming into contact with City defender Curtis Good in the 28th minute.
"It’s a tough decision and you have a split second to make that decision. For us, we thought it was normal contact," Delovski said. "Absolutely, no question there was contact but we would regard this as normal contact."A handful of fans complained on social media Sydney FC's Rhyan Grant should have been sent-off for his goal celebration. Grant was already on a yellow card when he slotted the winner with his chest and celebrated by lifting his shirt for a few seconds.
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