Aydın Tiryaki ve Gemini AI (2026)

One of the most frequently questioned—and perhaps most frustrating—aspects of the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system for football fans is when a goal, scored after a long and sustained attack, is disallowed due to an offside infringement that occurred way back at the beginning of the move.

Imagine a team playing out from their own half, completing a sequence of 40 passes, dismantling the opponent’s defense, and scoring a brilliant team goal. The stadium erupts, the players celebrate… but then the referee signals for a review. The goal is cancelled. The reason: A marginal offside in the very first second of the build-up, 40 passes ago.

Is it fair to intervene in the flow of the game to this extent? Where exactly does the rule begin and end?

Unlimited Rollback: “The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree”

Neither the Laws of the Game nor the VAR protocol sets a numerical limit (such as “the last 10 seconds” or “the last 3 passes”) for reviewing the build-up to a goal. The fundamental principle applied here is similar to the legal doctrine known as “The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree.”

The technical term in the VAR protocol is the “Attacking Possession Phase” (APP). According to this rule, if a team wins the ball and attacks continuously until they score, that entire process is considered a single action.

If there is a rule violation (such as an offside or a foul) at the very beginning of this chain—the first link—it does not matter how legitimate or aesthetic the subsequent links are. If the offside flag had been raised correctly at that first moment, the following 40 passes would never have occurred. Therefore, according to the rulebook, that entire 40-pass effort is considered null and void.

When Does the Phase Reset?

The critical point of this rule is the principle of “continuity.” The only thing that cuts off the VAR’s ability to review backwards—effectively “resetting the phase”—is if the opposing team gains control of the ball.

There is a very fine but crucial distinction here:

1. Deflection/Save: If a defender merely touches the ball, it deflects off them, or they make an instinctive attempt to block or save it, the attacking phase does not end. The ball is still considered to be under the initiative of the attacking team, and the VAR review can still go all the way back to the start.
2. Deliberate Play: If a defender brings the ball under control and deliberately passes or dribbles it, a “new phase” begins immediately. If they subsequently lose the ball and concede a goal, the VAR cannot go back to the previous offside. The history is wiped clean.

Conclusion: Absolute Justice vs. The Spirit of the Game

This application is the result of a quest for “absolute justice.” The lawmakers argue that an advantage gained from an illegal start should not be legitimized simply because the attack lasted a long time. However, from the perspective of the natural flow of football and the spectator experience, cancelling a goal due to an infringement that happened two minutes ago—and had no direct impact on the final shot—remains a subject of intense debate.

With the introduction of technology into football, grey areas are disappearing; everything is becoming black or white. The fate of 40 passes now depends entirely on that initial, millimetric decision.

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A Note on Methods and Tools: All observations, ideas, and solution proposals in this study are the author’s own. AI was utilized as an information source for researching and compiling relevant topics strictly based on the author’s inquiries, requests, and directions; additionally, it provided writing assistance during the drafting process. (The research-based compilation and English writing process of this text were supported by AI as a specialized assistant.)