It was the goal that put the match away for Toronto FC in their win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. But the visitors thought the ball may have gone out of play in the build-up.
Pablo Piatti's second goal in the 55th minute started with a run by forward Jozy Altidore, who was judged to have kept the ball in play along the touchline. Seconds later and the Argentine veteran buried a shot in the box to put the Reds up 2-0. Watch the replays below:
"I won't talk too much about it," said Vancouver center back Andy Rose postgame. "I've only seen one screenshot. I thought at the time that the ball was out. Just before that [Lucas] Cavallini has a chance and we were right in the game. So that felt like a bit of a sucker punch to go 2-0 down in the 55th minute. Definitely took a little bit of the wind out of our sails that we came into the second half with."
It's important to note that the Laws of the Game state that the entirety of the ball has to pass the entirety of the line to be deemed out of play. And since the ball is spherical, even if the part of the ball which is in contact with the ground is past the line, that does not necessarily mean that the entire ball is out of play.
Camera angles also play a factor. Even though one angle may show green between the outer edge of the line and the part of the ball touching the ground, it is not necessarily indicative of a ball being entirely out of play.
