Football Australia has explained why match officials ruled out Logan Rogerson’s goal in Auckland FC’s A-League semifinal against the Melbourne Victory.
The crucial decision on Saturday at Go Media Stadium came after Auckland FC went 2-0 down (2-1 on aggregate) in the second half of the second leg of the semifinal.
Football Australia, which manages the A-League match officials, told the Herald why the video assistant referee (VAR) review was so brief.
"The footage from the VAR was inconclusive, so in these circumstances we need to go with the on-field decision from the referee."
The moment played out following a Francis De Vries corner in the 69th minute. As the ball was cleared from the goalmouth, Guillermo May managed to hook the ball with his left foot to the back post, finding Rogerson, who slotted the ball into the back of the net with a header.
The crowd erupted and celebrations kicked off, before assistant referee Kearney Robinson erected his flag. His call suggested that May’s cross had crossed the byline and went out before curling back in.
The cross was briefly checked by the VAR, however, the on-field decision stood.
Significantly changing momentum, Auckland FC were unable to convert an equaliser before the match was up, prematurely ending their historic first season.
The decision left players, staff and fans reeling while pundits replayed and reviewed the goal from various angles on social media.
One fan took to X, formerly Twitter: “Clearly was a goal. No argument, just substandard Australian reffing ... Didn’t even check VAR.”
Others commented: “Rubbish, that was 100% a goal”, and “Surely to rule out a goal, you actually need clear evidence. Or at least some evidence.”
No one was seemingly more upset by the decision than Auckland FC coach Steve Corica, who remains adamant the ball never crossed the line.
Corica told Herald NOW two days after the fact that he hasn’t yet forgiven the match officials.
“That’s going to haunt me for quite a while, I think. It’s just disappointing the way it ended.”
“We normally have 15 minutes with [the match officials] after the game, but they shot off pretty quickly so we didn’t get that opportunity.”
Auckland FC chief executive Nick Becker told Herald NOW: “I’ve never seen a ref run out of a stadium so quickly.”
“It’s really disappointing, but there’s nothing you can do about it. It is what it is.”
“We did feel like there was no need for the linesman to put his flag up,” Becker added. “We’ve been sent a number of videos showing that the ball didn’t go out has led to a bit of frustration.”
In the press conference following the match, Corica said: “I think we all saw the replay – the ball’s in play.”
“So, for me, the referee’s made a bad decision, the linesman has, and so has the VAR because that would have obviously helped us get back into the game.”
“I don’t want an apology,” said Corica. “I want the right decision to be made. In my opinion, they got it wrong and that could have cost us getting back into the game and getting into a final. You’re talking about big decisions there, so you would hope they get it right.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She was named New Zealand’s Best Up and Coming journalist in 2025. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a fulltime journalist.