The end of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match in Egypt, between Tunisia and Libya (1-1), made the headlines of the international press after the textbook application of the offside law that nullified a spectacular Libyan counter-attack at 4 against 1.
Going to seek the winning and qualification goal for his team, the Tunisian goalkeeper Slim Bouasker surged into the Libyan penalty area to take a corner. His goal is unguarded. A lightning Libyan counter-attack with four attackers launched against a single Tunisian outfield defender.
When the Libyan attacker received the through ball, with the goal wide open in front of him, the assistant referee raised his flag to signal offside. The decision immediately halted the attack, provoking fierce protests from the Libyan bench and technical staff.
The laws of the game: why the decision was correct
The sequence quickly spread through global sports media, with wide coverage in publications such as the French daily L’Équipe, the Portuguese Record, the British The Sun, as well as the Spanish dailies Marca and Sport.
While the decision initially seemed incomprehensible to observers accustomed to judging offside by comparing to outfield players, IFAB Law 11 vindicated the refereeing team. According to the Laws of the Game, an attacker is in an offside position if any part of his head, his body or his feet is in the opposing half of the field (excluding the halfway line) and is closer to the opponent’s goal line than the ball and the second-to-last opponent.
Bouasker having stayed far forward in the attack, the only Tunisian outfield defender who was retreating was the last opponent, and not the penultimate.
The Libyan player who received the pass had crossed the halfway line by about a meter and was in front of the ball, which means there was no penultimate defender between him and the goal line. If the Libyan pass had been played before the attacker crossed the halfway line, or if the attacker had stayed behind the ball, the goal would have stood.
This turn of events officially ended the Carthage Eagles’ qualification campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The same for Libya, the two-point loss in such circumstances significantly complicates the remainder of its journey.
