Why do players hold their hands up and walk away?
by NDMike2001 (2023-01-16 13:11:35)

In reply to: What impact did Rashford have on the defense.  posted by ANNTOSTAL


...when the ball is played to them when they are in an offsides position?

The answer is because it's almost universally accepted that a player actively moving towards the ball is making a play on the ball. So it's irrelevant whether you have any interference with an opposing player if the call is made like it is always officiated.

But to answer your question, Rashford running himself in between Akanji and Bruno obstructs Ankanji from making any attempt on Bruno. And you can see Akanji letting up because he simply cannot run through Rashford to get to the ball. Akanji would literally have to foul Rashford (and get carded doing so) if he were to slide to try and kick the ball away. And again, Rashford intentionally ran to get himself into that position.

Interestingly enough, earlier in the game my son pointed out an instance where he saw Akanji outsprint Walker to a ball played behind them both.