Hawk Eye forced to explain why Ferran Torres’ goal for Barcelona vs Osasuna was ruled out

Barcelona secured a 2-0 victory against Osasuna on Saturday, with Raphinha netting both second-half goals. That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. a Ferran Torres goal in the first half was disallowed due to a very close offside decision, sparking considerable debate.

The Technical Committee of Referees subsequently requested an explanation from Hawk-Eye, the company behind the semi-automated offside system. In response, Hawk-Eye issued a statement addressing the controversy.

The statement explained, “If the animation’s freeze-frame is used as the sole point of reference, the line might appear not to be parallel with the goal line. This is a result of the image's perspective.”

Hawk-Eye elaborated, “When a 3D scene is projected onto a 2D image, parallel lines that recede into the distance will converge towards a vanishing point on the horizon. Because the camera in this image is precisely aligned with the offside line, that line appears perfectly vertical. Any line located to either side of it will not appear parallel, as demonstrated by the goal line to the right and the lines on the grass to the left.”

Hawk-Eye concluded, “Based on the above, we confirm that the system functioned correctly, the decision to disallow the goal was correct, and the animation accurately reflected the play.”