There was a rare occurrence when the referee was called to the VAR monitor, but stuck to his original decision, so here is why Francesco Acerbi’s goal for Inter against Roma was not disallowed.
The opening goal at the Stadio Olimpico saw Federico Dimarco’s corner kick flicked on by Romelu Lukaku for the looping Acerbi header into the far top corner.
VAR officials called referee Marco Guida to the monitor to evaluate whether Marcus Thuram was interfering with play in an offside position.
However, after viewing it several times, Guida stuck to his original decision.
This is because while Thuram was touching Rui Patricio, he was not in a position to prevent the goalkeeper getting to that Acerbi header.
If anything, his position would block Rui Patricio from moving away from the area where the ball ended up, so it was insufficient to disallow the goal.
The referee had to rule on this himself, because the VAR can only disallow a goal for offside if that player touched the ball.
Only a referee can judge something subjective, such as whether a player is interfering with play.