Raphinha makes fun of Lewandowski controversial offside

In the 14th minute of Barcelona's La Liga defeat to Real Sociedad, Robert Lewandowski scored a goal that was eventually disallowed by the semi-automatic offside detection system. The issue is that the Pole was so close to the defender covering him, Nayef Aguerd, that it looked as if the technology might have confused the toes of the striker's and defender's boots.

Hansi Flick's side eventually succumbed by the narrowest of margins thanks to a goal from Sheraldo Becker just before half-time. Speaking afterwards, the German coach acknowledged that his side's defeat was just because Imanol Alguacil's side had performed better, although he also said that, in conversation with the referee, he told him that, in his opinion, his striker's goal should have been given.

Raphinha, one of their captains, reacted to the controversy with a meme he shared in the ‘stories’ section of his Instagram profile. He showed an edited photo of feet that were too long, along with a laughing emoticon and a mention of the former Bayern Munich man to suggest that there had been a mistake in spotting the points on the striker's body. The joke ignited the already intense indignation of the Barca fans.

The semi-automatic offside system works with 29 points, between 10 and 12 cameras depending on the match and 50 detections per second to produce a 3D reconstruction that, at most, takes its software 25 seconds to generate. Even so, the screenshots of the moment selected for the offside position have spread like wildfire on social media amid complaints and protests.

 

November 11, 2024