Quote Originally Posted by Big King Sanctaphrax View Post
Wasn't Panucci off the pitch for treatment though? If that were the case, RVN would have been offside. I've been trying to clarify this, but none of the major football websites seem to mention it.
Watching the game on TiVo now.

As far as I could tell, he wasn't off for treatment, he got right back up after the goal. Buffon pushed him out. The rule is:
A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than the second last opponent (usually the 'last defender' because the goalkeeper is normally closest to the goal line). A player level with the second to last opponent is not in an offside position.
The rules don't say anything about what side of the goal line the second defender has to be on.
http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affe...006_e_1581.pdf Rule 11. I guess next year there will be a new diagram in the rulebook covering this issue.

So I guess it depends on how close to the line the Italian player was crumpled vs where RVN was when the ball was played.

Regardless, the second goal by Sneijder was genius. Holland: Total Football.