Why Colombia’s last-minute winner vs. Portugal was disallowed after VAR review
Davinson Sánchez thought he had scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner, but new replay angles revealed why the goal was ruled out.
Colombia and Portugal played out a thriller in Miami that somehow ended goalless, to the bemusement of everyone watching. Davinson Sánchez thought he had won it for the South American side right at the death, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
Why was Davinson Sánchez’s goal disallowed?
Initial replays of the incident suggested Sánchez was onside as he stooped to head a left-wing cross into the net. Plenty of fans took to social media to express their disbelief after Australian referee Alireza Faghani and his officiating team disallowed the goal.
However, the VAR footage was eventually released and showed Sánchez was offside by the tiniest of margins, roughly the size of his big toe. Most broadcast angles did not show the Colombian defender’s foot, which proved crucial to the offside decision.
VAR call makes little difference
In the end, the ruling made little difference to the Group K standings, as Colombia finished top and Portugal second regardless, both progressing to the knockout stage.
Colombia will face Ghana in the round of 32, with Portugal taking on Croatia.
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