We go into halftime with Argentina up just 1-0, surely a disappointing sight for a team that had three goals wiped away by offside calls. There is a definite “playing with your food” feel to the game — Saudi Arabia hasn’t been terribly threatening, and Argentina generated some solid scoring opportunities aside from the disallowed goals — but being one mistake away from even can’t feel great.
Novice fans don’t understand it. Longtime fans claim to understand it, but then openly disagree about it. Referees and their assistants are trained to spot it but often have to turn to replays to make sure they’ve got it right.