Florian Wirtz’s equaliser at Fulham for Liverpool caused controversy after the German seemed to be in an offside position but the decision has been justified after a review
13:59, 15 Jan 2026Updated 14:31, 15 Jan 2026
Florian Wirtz’s goal was initially ruled out for offside before VAR overturned the decision(Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
The Premier League Key Match Incidents Panel (KMI Panel) has confirmed that Florian Wirtz’s goal against Fulham was correctly awarded. Wirtz’s drew Liverpool level at Craven Cottage in the 57th minute after latching on to Connor Bradley’s touch.
The assistant referee immediately raised his flag to disallow the goal. After a lengthy wait, the video assistant referee, Andy Madley, reviewed the goal and decided to award it thanks to the help of semi-automated offside technology (SAOT).
Wirtz was aided by the five centimetres of tolerance allowed to attackers. The tolerance is referred to as thicker lines, which is implemented in the Premier League and not in Germany, Spain or Italy.
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The KMI Panel has unanimously backed Madley’s decision to count Wirtz’s goal against Fulham. They said: “The VAR intervention to award the goal was supported as correct, given the tight margin of the offside call and thicker offside lines used for these incredibly tight calls.”
Wirtz’s goal came close to helping Arne Slot’s men take all three points from Fulham when Cody Gakpo netted in the fourth minute of injury time. However, Harrison Reed scored a sensational leveller three minutes later.
Despite the euphoria of seeing his side rescue a point, Fulham boss Marco Silva launched a furious rant after the club contacted PGMOL for an explanation. “Now, I have more images, different tools. For me, I cannot believe how that goal was allowed, it was a clear offside,” Silva said.
Fulham and Liverpool had to wait anxiously for a VAR call to be made. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“We are still waiting for feedback from the Premier League. Everyone had the same opinion, it was clear. It’s much more than 5cm in my opinion.”
He added: “Against Palace at home, our goal from Emile Smith Rowe was disallowed, it was not 5cm, probably half the nail of Chukwueze. The goal was disallowed. What’s happened to this game? The tolerance was not spoken about then.
“I believe at the end of the season, everything should be balanced. “Everyone remembers what happened at Stamford Bridge, and it happened again on Sunday. Everything comes from VAR decisions.”
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