The confusion after Andrew Johnson’s late “goal” was disallowed for offside turned into a situation bordering on farce at which it was easy to poke fun. Not that David Moyes, the Everton manager, was laughing.
Johnson had returned from an offside position well before he took James Vaughan’s pass to roll the ball into an empty net, with Brad Friedel, the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper, sprawled on the turf after an uncompromising challenge with the Everton substitute. The issue no one seemed able to answer - with Alan Wiley, the referee, declining an invitation to give his version of events - was at what point Johnson had become active.
“The players generally don’t know the rule,” Moyes said. “We arranged a meeting with the assistants and referees and there was nearly a riot because we couldn’t believe what we were hearing and seeing. When we don’t know the rules and what will and won’t be given, the general offside rule has got to be changed.”
Not that Moyes was in any doubt about Johnson’s late effort. “There have to be two players behind the ball and the linesman thought there hadn’t been. That wasn’t confusing, that was just the wrong decision,” he said.
Mark Hughes, his Blackburn counterpart, saw things differently. “Mr Wiley didn’t have the best of games,” he said. “But the offside was one he got right.” Everton could have rendered the arguments facile by taking any of the numerous chances they created.
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BLACKBURN ROVERS (4-5-1):
B Friedel 7
B Emerton 6
A Ooijer 6
Z Khizanishvili 6
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S Warnock 5
M Derbyshire 4 (sub: Tugay Kerimoglu, 73min)
D Bentley 7
D Dunn 6 (sub: B McCarthy, 57 6)
S Reid 6
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M G Pedersen 6
R Santa Cruz 6.
Substitutes not used: J Brown, B Berner, J Roberts. Booked: Dunn, Khizanishvili, Emerton, Pedersen. Next: Arsenal (a).
EVERTON (4-4-1-1)
T Howard 6
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P Neville 7
P Jagielka 7
J Lescott 6
L Baines 7
M Fernandes 7
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M Arteta 8
L Carsley 7
L Osman 7 (sub: J Vaughan, 75)
T Cahill 6
A Johnson 7.
Substitutes not used: S Wessels, T Hibbert, N Valente, V Anichebe. Booked: Howard, Arteta. Next: Reading (h).