Liverpool in Premier League: Diego Jota goal – was it offside?

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Chris Sutton said the law was well known among the players.

“It’s clever from Luis Diaz really, because he knows he is onside once Tarkowski has played the ball,” he said.

“I don’t think changing the law is a good idea. It’s more complicated than just this one scenario, because without having this subjective element, you would be back to where everything is offside.

“If you are Everton, you feel slightly hard done by – I get that. But everything can’t be black and white unless you want to go back to the days where if anyone was offside, then that was the call.”

Fellow 5 Live Sport pundit Stephen Warnock, a former Liverpool left-back, had a different point of view to Sutton.

“This is a problem within the rule book and this is where it stems from,” he said.

“Because they look through the list of things and they go: ‘Was he interfering with play? No.’

“Well, actually he is if you have played the game and understand the game.

“If you are a couple of yards behind me and I am defending the edge of the box, my body is always on the half-turn, thinking: ‘Where are you and what are you doing?’

“Are you going to come and nip in front of me? Are you going to make a move and try to get yourself onside? So I am always reacting to you. My body is always sensing you and my eyeline is always drawn towards you and the ball, so I have constantly got my head on a swivel, so you’re affecting me.

“And if you went in and spoke to all ex-professional players within the training centres or wherever they are and said ‘is he active in this position?’ they would all say ‘he is affecting me, 100%’.

“But there is a tick-box sort of list within the offside rules, and that is an issue. You have got to use common sense at times, and you have got to understand the game.”