Faustino and Ferreira: Sporting’s goal v Rio Ave was legal | OneFootball

Sporting defeated Rio Ave 4-0 last Sunday, December 28, in a match valid for the 16th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The first goal for the green and whites, scored by Luis Suárez - who was considered the man of the match -, raised some doubts due to offside, but experts confirmed its legality.

"Suárez, in a regular position after João Simões' header, scored the goal with his midriff. He did not touch the ball with his hand. The subsequent collision with Miszta was caused by the goalkeeper. Everything was legal", stated Jorge Faustino in his analysis of the key moments of the match, in the newspaper Record.

Marco Ferreira, a former referee, also agreed with his panel colleague's opinion, explaining the reasons for it: "Suárez appears in the area and scores starting from a correct position. The forward starts behind the defensive line and anticipates the goalkeeper by introducing the ball with his body. Goal well validated".

With this victory – the 20th in 27 matches this season –, the team led by Rui Borges now has 41 points and remains in second place in the Liga Portugal Betclic standings. Porto (43) is in first place but has one less game. Meanwhile, Benfica is third with 36.

Sporting returns to the field next Friday, January 2, against Gil Vicente. The match, counting for the 17th round of the National Championship, against the team led by César Peixoto, will be played at 18:45 in Barcelos.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.