Play of the week: LA vs VAN

Week 21’s Play of the week features an offside decision made by the refereeing crew during the LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver Whitecaps game.

The incident that PRO Training & Development Manager Paul Rejer refers to demonstrates effective teamwork between the officials that enabled them to arrive at the correct decision.

Paul explained: “The ball was crossed into the Vancouver penalty area and headed on by Omar Gonzalez. At the time of the header, all of the LA forward players were in onside positions.

“Gyasi Zardes attempted to head the ball, but missed, and the ball landed at the feet of Villarreal, who scored. It appears to AR Jeremy Hanson, from his angle, that Zardes may have made contact with the ball, which would put Villarreal in an offside position, so he raised his flag.

“Referee Chris Penso was unsure whether contact was made and went over to his AR for dialogue. AR Hanson then confirmed that Villarreal was offside if Zardes played the ball.

“In an impressive team effort, 4th Official Juan Guzman was aware from his angle and was able to confirm over the communication kit that Zardes did not make contact with the ball. That was the final piece of the jigsaw that referee Penso needed and then he correctly awarded the goal.

“This is a tremendous example of teamwork. Chris Penso diligently collated all of the necessary information from his colleagues and didn’t rush into a decision before obtaining all of the facts. It was totally understandable that AR Jeremy Hanson thought that Zardes may have headed the ball but he correctly sought advice from his colleagues and the final, and most important, piece of the jigsaw came from Juan Guzman informing them that there was no contact.

“The team of match officials deserve much credit arriving at the correct decision.”