VAR rules out Ecuador’s opening goal for offside and everyone says the same thing

Football fans have been left baffled over why Ecuador’s opening goal was ruled out for offside in the opening game of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Former West Ham and Everton striker Enner Valencia was in the right place at the right time to head home Felix Torres’ overhead kick after Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb’s questionable decision making.

However, it was ruled out after VAR replays showed that Valencia was in an offside position.

The rules state that two players have to be behind the ball when it’s played, including the goalkeeper.

But the covert VAR operation has left many people scratching their heads.

Reaction to the decision was quick to flood in on social media, and most people were saying the same thing.

We’ve rounded up the best of it below:

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.