Venezia Goal Ruled Out by Incredibly Tight Offside Call in Serie A Clash

In a recent Serie A match between Venezia and Cagliari, a goal by Venezia’s Gaetano Oristanio was disallowed due to one of the closest offside calls ever seen in Italian football. The incident occurred during Venezia’s 2-1 victory over Cagliari.

Oristanio, who had already assisted Francesco Zampano’s opening goal in the first half, thought he had doubled Venezia’s lead shortly after halftime. However, the goal was ruled out after VAR review due to an extremely marginal offside position by his teammate Joel Pohjanpalo.

The decision required the use of Semi-Automatic Offside Technology (SAOT), which showed that just the edge of Pohjanpalo’s trailing boot was beyond the last Cagliari defender when he received the ball with his back to goal before passing to Oristanio.

Oristanio, a 22-year-old Inter Milan youth product who spent last season on loan at Cagliari, had initially refrained from celebrating out of respect for his former club. The disallowed goal highlighted the precision of modern offside technology in football.

Despite the setback, Venezia managed to secure their second goal through defender Marin Sverko minutes later. Cagliari’s late push, including a goal from Leonardo Pavoletti, was not enough to complete a comeback.

This incident serves as a prime example of how the finest margins can now determine crucial decisions in top-level football matches, sparking debates about the nature of the offside rule and its implementation with advanced technology.