Tyrone Mings Hits Out At 'Nonsense' Offside Rule For Manchester City Goal

Tyrone Mings revealed he hadn't heard of the rule that allowed Rodri to be given onside for Manchester City's opening goal against Aston Villa, and slammed it as 'nonsense.'

City were made to work very hard for their 2-0 win against Villa on Wednesday evening, which momentarily took them top of the league, with both their goals coming in the final 11 minutes.

When the opener did arrive, through Bernardo Silva, it was hugely controversial. Rodri looked in an extremely offside position when the ball was headed towards him. Mings intercepted the header but as soon as he brought it down was tackled by the midfielder.

Rodri then found Silva who smashed the ball home. Villa players remonstrated with the officials, whilst fans, commentators and even former referee Peter Walton all believed the City player was offside.

After the match it was explained that the England defender's deliberate play of the ball had made the former Atletico Madrid man onside, which Mings describe as nonsense as he took to social media.

Dean Smith was outraged at the decision and argued with the fourth official and the referee, which initially led the Villa manager to pick up a booking.

The former Brentford boss continued to argue with Jon Moss, who promptly turned back round, having walked away, to change the colour of the card from yellow to red.

Following the match, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, speaking to Premier League Productions, explained Villa were a victim of the law, saying, "I think this is a case of Aston Villa being a victim of IFAB rather than the referee or the VAR.

"You see Rodri in an offside position, clearly - being in an offside position isn't an offence - but once Mings starts to take control of the ball, he's judged to have taken ownership of that situation and therefore, once the ball has been chested by Mings, Rodri can challenge him.

"That's how the law is set up. It seems very unpalatable to everybody. Unfortunately, as that is how the law is set up, that's how it is."

Smith was also unhappy with City's second goal, scored in the 90th minute, after Matty Cash was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

The full back was close to Gabriel Jesus' header when it struck his hand but the ref believed his arm was in an unnatural position and pointed to the spot, with Ilkay Gundogan wrapping up the points.

For most though the game will be remembered for the opening goal and being introduced to a ridiculous goal that allowed Rodri to gain an advantage from an offside position.

Topics: Manchester City, Rodri, Football News, Aston Villa, Ilkay Gundogan, Tyrone Mings, Premier League, Bernardo Silva

Ryan Sidle

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