Claim: the ball in the Japan vs. Spain game didn't cross the line

Question

I saw an article saying that ahead of Japan's 2nd goal in their game vs. Spain didn't cross the line, but there are various pictures from different perspectives that leave me confused. Did the ball cross the line, and did the referees in the game make the right decision?

Comments

Whether the ball crossed the line or not is the debate. While many viewers see the ball over the line, the referees and the video assistant crew (VAR) did not feel as such. The Athletic was able to contact FIFA and get the information that they had on the goal (article below). Goal line technology exists for inside the goal, but not outside so the VAR crew had to check by eye. They felt as if the ball did not fully cross the goal line and therefore overturned the original decision so it was a goal.

https://theathletic.com/3958521/2022/12/01/japan-goal-var-spain-world-cup-2022/

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@Blackhawk87 nice work providing a solid explanation and source link. Don't forget to add a rating next time to all your fact-checks (see the sidebar of this page for more information). For this claim, it might be "true, not misinformation."

Also, going forward, please "answer" the claim rather than comment on it so that your fact-check can be upvoted and be selected as the best answer.

Answer 1

Depends. The true fact of the matter is that the ball did not cross the line, since that was the official call of the VAR (video assistant referee) in the game. Whether it was the right decision is an opinion and cannot be fact checked. Camera angles play a huge part in people's decision as seen here, and the official rule of soccer is that the ball is only out of play "when it has wholly passed over the goal line or touchline on the ground or in the air" according to the International Football Association Board Official 2022-2023 Rules. 

Rating: true/opinion - the official call was that the ball was still in play, if it was a good call is an opinion

Comments

Great work on your fact-check. You provided a solid explanation with details on the ball not crossing the line as well as multiple source links to support your fact-check. Also, you included a rating. Well done!