This England Fan Explained That Impossible Japan World Cup Goal And It Changes Everything
“Perception and angle are everything!!!”
From shows of protest to shock upsets, there has been no shortage of dramatic moments at this year’s World Cup.
One controversy, in particular, was Japan’s winning goal against Spain during the Group stage games on Thursday Dec 1.
Its victory not only advanced the team to the Knockout stage but also struck Germany, a powerful contender, out of contention.
Replay footage showed the ball appearing to go out of bounds right before Mitoma Kaoru kicked the ball to Tanaka Ao, who netted the ball into the goal.
After an extensive review by the video assistant referee (VAR), the goal stood and allowed Japan to pull ahead and win 2-1.
The decision sent media pundits into frenzy and the soccer world into heated debate.
Luckily one helpful England fan took to Twitter to explain the ruling in a video post that has since received 3.5 million views.
Nick Levett, a 45-year-old coach at UK Coaching, recreated the scene with a soccer ball and a piece of paper and illustrated why “the whole of the ball” did not to pass over the goal line, meaning that the ball had been very much in play.
“I qualified as a football referee when I was 15 years old and can always remember learning about the illusion of angles. Where you are positioned determines what you see and what you don’t see” Levett told Almost.
He said that he never expected his video to go viral but added that its simplicity may have contributed to its success.
“I think it should help give referees and officials some more respect because they have applied the laws perfectly and the average football fan from their armchair doesn’t always understand all the rules properly!” Levett said.
Japan moved on to play Croatia on Monday Dec 1. as part of the Top 16 before being defeated in penalties 3-1.
