Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's opening goal in the win over Italy was legitimate, says Premier League referees' chief Keith Hackett.

Van Nistelrooy looked yards offside when he prodded home from close range.

But it appears he was played onside by defender Christian Panucci, who was lying off the pitch.

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"Christian Panucci went off through contact with his own goalkeeper (Gianluigi) Buffon. He is still considered part of the game."

Uefa general secretary David Taylor said at a media briefing on Tuesday that the officials had made the right decision.

He told a news conference: "There is a lack of understanding as to why this particular goal was awarded. In fact some television commentators have insisted the goal was clearly offside, but that is not the case.

"The player was not offside because in addition to the goalkeeper there was another Italian player in front of the goalscorer. Even though he had fallen off the pitch his position was still relevant for the purposes of the offside law."

Van Nistelrooy stuck out a leg to poke home a Giovanni van Bronckhorst shot, after Italy had initially cleared the ball.

Italy's players were furious with the decision and even the Dutch delayed their celebrations until they were sure the goal had been given.

Italy striker Luca Toni, who was booked for protesting the goal, said: "I looked at the replay during the match and it looked to me as if it was offside.

"I said to the referee, 'look at the replay'. But he didn't look so that was that."

After the game Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt admitted he was waiting for the goal to be chalked off for offside.

But Hackett's comments back up the chairman of Austria's refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl, who said the decision was "100% correct".

(BBC)

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