Manchester City midfielder Rodri has blasted the current way in which offside decisions are made, after Ederson was forced off injured against Newcastle United on Saturday.
City came from behind to win 3-2 against the Magpies, thanks largely to the wonderful cameo of Kevin De Bruyne.
Just minutes into the game, Pep Guardiola was forced into a substitution when Ederson went down.
The Brazilian suffered a deep wound to his leg, as a direct result of the linesman keeping his flag down, when it was a clear offside. In today’s game, line officials are asked to keep their flags down on potential offsides unless it is absolutely crystal clear that the player in question is off.
City lost John Stones to injury in December in similar circumstances, and Rodri has not let rip about the current state of the game…
Rodri blasts current football laws and officiating standards as Ederson picks up injury vs Newcastle
£63 million signing Rodri had another excellent game against Newcastle on Saturday, and extended his personal unbeaten run in a City shirt to 50 games across all competitions.
While he is elated that City picked up three huge points, the Spaniard was left feeling quite frustrated after the game.
The offside non-call which resulted in the injury to Ederson has left the former Atletico Madrid man baffled, and he also slammed the performance of referee Chris Kavanagh.
He said (as quoted by Daily Mail): “We have an injury because of this [offside] situation. I think it is ridiculous. It could have been worse, fortunately it was just a kick, but there are lots of injuries in this situation.
“I agree (it’s hard to keep up with ever-changing laws). To be honest, the referee [at Newcastle] was unbelievable in a negative way.”
Player safety needs considering
Rodri’s frustrations are understandable.
City have now suffered two injuries as a result of this protocol of keeping flags down and letting phases play out before raising flags.
Players don’t need to be suffering injuries needlessly and lawmakers do need to sit down and address this, because it’s only a matter of time before a really serious one occurs.
Thankfully for City, Ederson’s issue was not serious. But another player might not get so lucky.
