Does anyone know offside rule?

EvErton’s disallowed goal against Manchester United on sunday succinctly highlighted the problem with the modern offside rule. It doesn’t exist. Football’s authorities have tampered with it to such an extent that many calls are now just a matter of opinion. When Harry Maguire deflected a shot by Dominic CalvertLewin (right) past the prone figure of Gylfi sigurdsson and beyond David de Gea in the final minutes at Goodison Park, views were divided in a way they shouldn’t be. He didn’t touch the ball, so he’s fine. no, he made a movement so he’s active. Yes, but the movement wasn’t towards the ball, so he can’t be. He’s in the goalkeeper’s eye-line — surely that counts? But not when the shot was made, so it doesn’t apply. And this is a conversation between former professionals and people who are paid to report football. richard Keys and Andy Gray couldn’t make sexist jokes about females not knowing the offside rule any more — because nobody knows the offside rule now. not even the officials. Jon Moss, who was on vAr duty, was lauded by Mark Halsey in one newspaper for getting the call right. sigurdsson was obstructing De Gea’s line of vision, he said. He even cited Law 11. Moss was also supported by Peter Walton and, almost reluctantly, by Keith Hackett who said it was offside but there was doubt because De Gea was already wrong-footed by the deflection. Walton denounced that as irrelevant. Mark Clattenburg, meanwhile, said he would have given the goal because De Gea had a clear view of the original shot. this is offside, remember, an issue supporters of vAr tell us is so black and white only a Luddite cannot accept lines that cancel goals by the breadth of a pinkie nail. It’s a mess. the starting point for the rules of any sport is that they should be fair; next, they should be fathomable. For those who have not come to rugby from schooldays, it was always a source of amusement that at any given moment some of the greatest minds in the game don’t appear to know what is going on. Football isn’t perfect, we laugh, but at least we can understand it. And now we can’t. A goal was scored by Everton and in the immediate aftermath nobody knew for certain if it should stand. Whether the final call was right or wrong, as a matter of process that is the most colossal failure.