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| Craig Pawson awarded Liverpool a goal against Bournemouth before admitting it shouldn't have stood |
THE Premier League has written to all top flight clubs to clarify the new offside rules after admitting Christian Benteke's controversial winner for Liverpool against Bournemouth on Monday should not have stood.
Benteke's close-range goal at Anfield was allowed to stand by referee Craig Pawson despite team-mate Philippe Coutinho having been stood in an offside position and attempting to play the ball.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe was unhappy the infringement was not spotted by the match officials and was fully aware of the new rules.
So the decision to write to the clubs, rather than ask with referees' body PGMOL to take it up with Pawson and his assistants, misses the point.
"The Premier League has this week written to its clubs to clarify the new interpretation of the offside law decided by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) this summer," said the Premier League in a statement.
"Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) issued this guidance in order to clear up any misunderstandings that arose following the goal awarded to Liverpool in their Monday night match against AFC Bournemouth.
"The Premier League does not generally comment on decisions made by match officials. However, given the recent change to the interpretation of the offside law and the fact that it was made close to the start of the season, the league felt it was appropriate, in this instance, to publish in order to inform fans and other stakeholders."
Under the new guidance, Coutinho did not need to have touched the ball to have been considered interfering with play, as he would in the past.
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| Christian Benteke celebrates scoring against Bournemouth |
Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson has admitted he must weigh up the long-term risk to his fitness before deciding whether to lead Liverpool at Arsenal on Monday.
The Liverpool captain has been troubled by a heel problem for a "few months", but the injury has flared since the resumption of the new season and saw him substituted after 52 minutes on Monday.
Henderson is being assessed on a daily basis and is a major doubt for the trip to The Emirates with Liverpool mindful of pushing him and then losing him for a number of games.
"That is the problem," said Henderson. "If I do play what is the risk and how long could I be out potentially if I do something in the game?
"There are many factors that the manager and the medical team need to decide. I just want to play on Monday, but if I can't I need to get fit as soon as possible.
"I had pains in the bottom of both feet for a few months really, but nothing too major. Then in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the Stoke game I felt it bad and I couldn't really put my weight on it.
"That was the first time I really felt it and I couldn't train for the next week but managed to play in the [Bournemouth] game.
"In the second half, it was a case where the issue was the weight-bearing again and with 40 minutes to go it was wise to bring us off.
"It has settled down over the last few days, but I don't know what it will be like in terms of Monday. Hopefully, the pain and the symptoms die down.
"When everything settles down I will be okay, but I don't know when that will be."
Henderson's fitness will be a concern for England coach Roy Hodgson who is already set to be without Jack Wilshere for the Euro 2016 qualifiers with San Marino and Switzerland at the start of next month.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers will also draw up a contingency plan with Lucas, who has not featured in a match-day squad as yet, likely to come back under consideration.
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