Originally Posted by
The Lone Gunman
The outcome, however, was the same. A goal counted that shouldn't have been allowed and almost certainly won't be next season when VAR is introduced to the Premier League.
I think Warnock's comments today were somewhat ironic when he said: "He (Mike Reilly) has been manufactured, almost like a robot. He knows everything about the rules but I feel these people struggle to understand the game and the human element."
The linesman's mistake on Sunday was clearly human error. It was a poor one and desperately unlucky from City's perspective, but it's not as if the guy was deliberately trying to cheat City out of a result. He's not a robot. These errors happen all the time and, in my opinion at least, it's only the fact that we have so many camera angles in top flight matches and other high-profile televised games that they end up being scrutinised to the degree they are. Indeed, I reckon if the exact same goal had been scored against City last season in a non-TV Championship game where the only cameras in operation were on the halfway line, nobody would have noticed.
We see offside decisions awarded at all levels on a regular basis that are incorrect and we also see goals allowed that should have been ruled out. That's because the officials are not robots and there is a human element, which means in almost all cases they're just guessing, the same as the fans in the stands.
I've spoken to a lad in work this morning who was there on Sunday. He said there was no kind of reaction from the crowd to the first Chelsea goal other than moans and groans of disappointment. He wasn't aware of the offside issue until after the game and I'm guessing the same is true for the players and most if not all of the rest of the crowd. I didn't spot the offside on first viewing in real time and neither did the commentators on Sky or the BBC. It's just horrendous luck from City's point of view that the one man who could and should have been in a position to see it and award a free-kick was apparently distracted during the split-second the incident took place.