In a Serie A clash between Empoli and Torino on Saturday, Tyronne Ebuehi’s birthday celebration took an unexpected turn as his goal was disallowed, marking one of the tightest offside calls in football history.
Ebuehi believed he had found the back of the net, capitalizing on Vanja Milinkovic-Savic’s setup following Sebastiano Luperto’s knockdown.
This appeared to be the equalizer to Duvan Zapata’s opener at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino.
However, the joyous moment turned into frustration after an extensive VAR review revealed a minuscule offside position.
The Lega Serie A released an image from the Semi-Automatic Offside technology, illustrating that only a tiny sliver of Ebuehi’s boot exceeded the offside line.
Despite the disappointment, the decision adhered to the strict interpretation of offside rules, considering only body parts legally used for scoring. Notably, the arm’s position was deemed irrelevant.
Empoli ultimately suffered a 1-0 defeat, with Duvan Zapata securing the victory for Torino with his decisive strike.