There was some confusion over the Kylian Mbappé goal that ultimately won the Nations League for France, as a Spain player ruined his own offside trap.
Spain had taken the lead through Mikel Oyarzabal and Karim Benzema’s curler cancelled it out almost immediately.
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Mbappé ran onto the Theo Hernandez through ball and beat Unai Simon one-on-one for what proved to be the winner.
Replays suggested Mbappé was offside, as he was clearly not level with Eric Garcia.
However, it was Eric Garcia who ruined his own offside trap by lunging to make contact with the pass, getting a small touch to it.
That intentional touch reset the play and means Mbappé was therefore not offside.
Spanish media considered it a ‘scandal,’ but the rules of the game state Eric Garcia intentionally played the ball.
Had he just let the pass go through, it would’ve been disallowed.
Former referees and now television pundits Luca Marelli and Tiziano Pieri both explain this is the correct reading of the rules, even though they might not ‘like’ the way the regulations are currently interpreted.