Everton beat Newcastle 1-0 in the Premier League, with a Thierno Barry goal early in the second half. But the sentence I underlined twice in my notebook, tab “rules that look simple”, is this one: Anthony Elanga’s ball rolled on the line without entirely crossing it, and Everton cleared.
Silly question, but can a ball roll ON a line? Along the line? Like a train on a rail? I read it again. Yes. It was on the line, it stayed on the line, and then somebody took it away.
I was told that in football the ball has to cross the line entirely for it to be a goal. Entirely. A ball that is ninety-nine per cent in the goal is not in the goal. I asked whether they round up. I was looked at as if I’d asked for a refund on the ticket.
Basketball doesn’t have that, I looked: the ball goes through the hoop or it doesn’t, and the hoop leaves very little room for doubt.
The same day, VAR looked at Barry’s goal, a matter of an arm on a defender and a possible offside, according to VoetbalPrimeur. Goal given. So in one incident they check an arm and a position to the millimetre. In the other, the ball decides by itself to stay on the line. I made a chart.
At my ground, the line’s been invisible since October. We settle it by shouting.
The score stayed 1-0. Jacob Ramsey, on late in the game, was sent off in added time for two yellow cards, and Newcastle never really got the chance to get back on the line. Neither on it, nor past it.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: The Guardian.
