Why Ecuador's opening goal against World Cup hosts was disallowed

Three minutes into the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, there was already the first on-field controversy of the tournament.

Former West Ham United and Everton striker Enner Valencia thought he had given Ecuador the lead against the hosts when he nodded in a cross from Felix Torres' acrobatic volley.

As Qatar's players limped back to their starting positions, Ecuador's players ran on the field in celebration. Despite Valencia's header going in off the crossbar, minutes later, referee Daniele Orsato signalled that the goal would be disallowed for video review.

If the goal had been scored in the first minute of play, it would have been a World Cup record for the fastest goal in the tournament's opening game. Instead, a critical lifeline was thrown 

But why was the goal ruled out by VAR? We take a look below.

Why was the goal offside?

The first goal was disallowed because Pervis Estupinan crossed the ball from a free kick into the penalty area. When Felix Torres challenged Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb for the ball, Michael Estrada's right boot was offside.

Estrada redirected it to Torres, who volleyed it acrobatically to Valencia. Soon after, Valencia put the ball in the net with a header.

A Qatari defender was behind the ball, so the goal was ruled off. Because the goalie is ahead of the ball, the last defender plays goalie.

The decision was made with the help of semi-automated offside technology, a first for the 2022 World Cup.

Those who have been following the Champions League regularly may be aware of the offside technology that was successfully implemented during the group stage. The majority of times, the VAR officials were able to make a decision much faster than if they had been forced to engage in offside geometry.

Initially, it is the responsibility of the on-field assistant referee to determine whether or not to raise their flag to indicate that a player is in an offside position. Offside is signalled at the end of each period, as seen in Europe, because a wrong premature flag can cost a team a goal-scoring opportunity.

When a goal is scored or a potentially game-changing decision is made, semi-automated offside technology is activated (penalty or red card). The offside trap detects if the goal scorer or any of the players in the buildup were in violation of the rules.

The system employs a network of twelve cameras hidden in the stadium's ceiling to monitor the ball and collect as many as twenty-nine data points per player. Included in those 29 points are all appendages and body parts that should be considered in determining whether or not a player is offside.

A small inertial measurement unit will be embedded in the ball's centre, and it will send data to the video operation room 500 times per second. This will allow for precise detection of when the ball has been kicked.

The technology immediately notifies the officials in the video operation room if a player receives the ball while in an offside position. The decision is not final until the video match officials verify the kicking point and the automated offside line.

The decision in the first game of the 2022 World Cup took much longer than the standard few seconds that this procedure is supposed to take.

The semi-automated offside technology comes into operation in the instance when a goal has been scored or a potentially match-defining decision has been made (penalty or red card). It checks whether or not the goalscorer, or any players involved in the build-up, has strayed offside at any stage.

The technology uses 12 tracking cameras underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball as well as up to 29 data points on each player. Those 29 data points include all limbs and body parts that are relevant for making an offside decision.

An inertial measurement unit will be placed inside the centre of the ball and it will send data to the video operation room 500 times per second which will allow for accurate detection of when the ball has been kicked.

As soon as a player receives the ball in an offside position, the technology provides an automatic alert to the officials in the video operation room. Before informing the on-field referee of the decision, the video match officials must validate the decision by confirming that the kicking point and the automated offside line are correct.

This entire process is supposed to take a matter of seconds, although the decision in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup took significantly longer.