CBF says that arbitration was right when annulling Vasco’s goal against Palmeiras

Reason for much complaint from Vasco, the annulment of the goal scored by Paulinho against Palmeiras was evaluated by the CBF Arbitration Commission as the correct decision to be taken in the face of a move of this nature.

Commission president, Wilson Seneme gave explanations in his weekly program, displayed on the CBF website, this time alongside Péricles Bassol, VAR manager, and Giullano Bozzano, technical manager.

In the move, Vegetti heads inside the area, in an offside condition, and Palmeiras defender Murilo saves on top of the line. After that, Richard Ríos kicks the ball away and Paulinho, from Vasco da Gama, gets the ball outside the area, who hits hard and scores a great goal. Referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio annulled the goal after VAR analysis. For Vasco, however, Ríos’ intervention would have created a new attacking move, unrelated to the irregular position. In this case, the goal would be legal.

According to the CBF, however, the bid fulfills the criteria to characterize the continuity of the “attack phase”, a technical term used by the referees. Seneme explained the details that determine what would be the start of a new move. “The player has to be without any pressure, or the ball goes to his teammate. It’s not just the fact that he takes the ball out of the area”, he said. “The defenders are even positioned to defend what would be a sequence of the move. They are under the effect of the first move”, he added.

Giuliano Bozzano detailed other specifications of the rule. “The ball has to leave not only the area, but the surroundings of the area. Let’s assume that he managed to move that ball, that ball left those surroundings or went to a teammate. If it went to the midfield, it would have left the surroundings of the area,” he said.

“When he (Paulinho) kicks, he is free to kick, all because of a first offside,” added Péricles Bassol. “The team in green did not create a new attack phase. It rejected an imminent danger, which is the attack phase of the team in white. We have the attack phase maintained by the white team, yes”, he concludes.

When the shot ran out, the game was tied scoreless. Later, in the second half, a beautiful goal by Raphael Veiga defined the 1-0 victory for Palmeiras. After the match, Vasco published a note saying it would go to the CBF to contest the decision. “The referee’s mistake directly influenced the progress of the game and, consequently, its result. Again, since this is not the first time that this has happened in the Brazilian Championship, the club will present a formal complaint to the Brazilian Football Confederation”, says the communiqué.