Millimeters decide! VAR rules out Crystal Palace goal against Tottenham due to nose offside

The matchday 29 Premier League clash between Tottenham and Crystal Palace delivered one of the most amusing moments in the history of the VAR system.

Details: Midway through the game, the Eagles appeared to have scored a crucial goal thanks to Ismaïla Sarr. But the celebrations of players and fans were abruptly cut short by an agonizingly long VAR review: the assistant referees spent over five minutes drawing lines, trying to determine whether there was an offside in an extremely tight situation. The verdict finally arrived—goal disallowed.

The semi-automated offside graphic made it crystal clear that the deciding factor was... the striker’s nose. According to the letter of the law, any part of the body that can legally score a goal counts for offside decisions, and in this case the very tip of Sarr’s nose was a few millimeters closer to the goal than the Spurs defender’s knee.

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner could not contain his emotions in the technical area. Cameras caught the furious yet ironic coach theatrically pointing to his nose as he appealed to the fourth official.