Originally Posted by
WTF11
Hence my reference to rules, backing up your comment on them not helping.
It can't make any sense, no matter how many convoluted twists and turns the lawmakers dream up, for a players short sleeve, or the hem of their shorts, (or even, I would suggest, the heel of his (or her) boot), or as was actually the case recently their backside, to be considered relevant when deciding whether the player is offside. There simply MUST be some measure of interpretation of conditions, and the rules should allow that, which currently, clearly, they don't.
Black and white rules are not the norm in football. Take the appalling tackle early in the game, obviously a straight red, but I've seen similar tackles, which haven't made contact as that one did, that haven't even been given a yellow, despite the rules mentioning the showing of studs etc as justification for one, so leaving refs to interpret conditions of play and circumstances. The last red is another example, this time of where the ref got it wrong and VAR SHOULD have stepped in to correct his decision. I suspect most fans would appreciate VAR doing so, and so would refs, if they have any common sense. They are trained and paid to interpret and apply the rules but right now its a case of "the law is an ass".