Controversy Surrounds John Stones’ Late Winner as Manchester City Edge Wolves 2-1
Manchester City secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, but John Stones‘ winning goal sparked a storm of controversy due to Bernardo Silva‘s involvement.
Wolves fans were left fuming at full-time, accusing Silva of interfering with play from an offside position before Stones’ header found the back of the net. The assistant referee initially flagged for offside, but after a VAR review, it was determined that Silva did not obstruct Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa’s view.
The home side argued that while Silva may not have blocked Sa’s line of sight, his presence had distracted the keeper enough to warrant the goal being disallowed. However, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher dismissed these complaints during his analysis on Ref Watch, explaining that Silva’s involvement wasn’t a factor in the decision.
“If you look, Silva is in an offside position, but he can’t be offside from a corner, so that’s a red herring,” Gallagher said. “You can only be offside when Stones touches it, and by then, Silva is already peeling away. He’s not in the line of vision or blocking the keeper’s sight, and he doesn’t affect Sa’s ability to play the ball because he moves away.”
Gallagher further clarified, “The key issue that’s being missed is that while the pushing between Sa and Bernardo is happening, Silva isn’t in an offside position because it’s a corner. So he can’t be flagged for offside until Stones touches the ball—and when that happens, Silva has already moved away.”
City’s hard-fought win could prove pivotal in the title race, especially with Arsenal slipping up over the weekend and Liverpool pulling off an impressive 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Manchester City now sit just one point behind league leaders Liverpool as they prepare for their next match against Southampton.
