Morata, Mbappe then chapter 11.2's deliberate play
On October 15, 2023, during a critical Euro qualifier match between Norway and Spain at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Norway, defender Stefan Strandber unintentionally deflected a cross from Spain into his own goal. Spain's Alvaro Morata seized the opportunity but had his goal disallowed by referee Tobias Stieler following a VAR review. This decision was due to Morata being in an offside position and making contact with the ball en route to the goal. Goal would have stood sometime back before International Football Association Board (IFAB) redefined guidelines on deliberate plays. IFAB updated rule after a number of controversial goals including the high profile incident in the UEFA Nations League finals when Mbappe scored from offside position after Eric Garcia intercepted ball(see pic).
IFAB updated conditions of deliberate play to uplift spirit of the game to allow attacking
player profit from offside position.
Following are the updated list of guidelines regarding deliberate play.
- The ball travelled from distance and the player had a clear view of it.
- The ball was not moving quickly.
- The direction of the ball was not unexpected.
- The player had time to coordinate their body movement, i.e. it was not a case of instinctive stretching or jumping, or a movement that achieved limited contact/control.
- A ball moving on the ground is easier to play than a ball in the air.
Morata's goal and Mbappe's goal doesn't fit into the deliberate play guidelines from IFAB. But one goal stood and other one did not, because of the update by IFAB in offside guidelines.