Former England striker Gary Lineker has strongly criticised the decision to disallow a goal scored by Victor Osimhen during UEFA Champions League action between Galatasaray and Liverpool, Soccernet.ng reports.
The incident happened during the round-of-16 first leg in Istanbul. Galatasaray won the match 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Mario Lemina, but the game produced a huge debate because of a controversial VAR decision involving Osimhen.
In the second half, the Nigerian striker thought he had doubled the Turkish champions' lead. A cross into the Liverpool box was not properly cleared by defender Ibrahima Konaté, allowing Osimhen to react quickly and slot the ball into the net.
However, the goal was cancelled after a VAR review. Officials ruled that Galatasaray winger Barış Alper Yılmaz was in an offside position during the build-up. Even though Yilmaz did not touch the ball, the refereeing team decided he had challenged Liverpool defender Andy Robertson and affected play.
Lineker strongly disagreed with that interpretation.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, the former FC Barcelona striker said the decision made no sense after he studied the replay many times.
“I’ve watched it 50 times and it’s absurd. There’s no impact [from Yilmaz]. It’s just a terrible, terrible decision and VAR just waved it on.”
He insisted that the offside player did not influence the situation at all.
“There was no interference whatsoever. It was the wrong player as well. They got it completely wrong. I’ve double-checked it a thousand times. There was no contact and also, it wasn’t that player who went through. He had no impact on the game whatsoever.”
The decision denied Osimhen an important personal milestone. The striker would have equalled the record of former Galatasaray forward Burak Yılmaz for the most goals scored by the club in a single Champions League season.
Liverpool vs Galatasaray up next at Anfield
The controversial moment did not change the final result of the match. Galatasaray held on to their early advantage to claim a narrow 1-0 win at RAMS Park in Istanbul.
Lemina’s decisive goal came in the seventh minute. Osimhen played a key role in the move, providing the assist that allowed the midfielder to score with a header. From that moment, the Turkish side defended strongly and managed to frustrate Liverpool for the rest of the game.
Liverpool also had their own VAR disappointment later in the match. A goal from a corner kick was ruled out after officials decided that Konaté had handled the ball during the scramble in the penalty area.
Despite the defeat, Liverpool created several chances and forced a number of saves from Galatasaray’s goalkeeper. That means the tie is still very open ahead of the return leg.
The second leg will take place at the famous Anfield stadium on Wednesday, March 18. Liverpool now face a difficult task because they must win by at least two goals to advance directly to the quarter-finals.
Galatasaray, on the other hand, will travel to England full of confidence. They only need a draw to go through, while even a one-goal defeat could still give them hope of progressing after extra time or penalties.
