Even ETH said (or at least intimated), when interviewed after the game, that he was surprised they got that call (or non-call, as it were).
I hate to say it, but I think the referee went with the call that would be easier to defend when his bosses from PGMOL call him up later today or Monday. Everything about the call is
technically correct, if you go by the
letter of the rules:
- Rashford clearly doesn't touch the ball
- The defender trailing Rashford was not going to make up the distance, so obstruction doesn't come into play
- Fernandes & Rashford converge on the same point when the shot is taken, so it is not as if Rashford's positioning was affecting Ederson's positioning (arguably)
- Nothing Rashford does obstructs Fernandes' trailing defender
Having said that, the call absolutely, IMO, goes against the spirit/point of the offside rule. Make Rashford magically disappear just before the forward pass, and those two defenders react a little differently to the situation, and the shot from Fernandes is probably a bit more contested.
For one, Rashford's trailing defender hesitates before accelerating since it's so obvious that Rashford is offside. If Rashford isn't there, he's accelerating towards Fernandes and trying, with the other defender, to box him into a lower xG shot.
For two, I could see Fernandes' trailing defender (Walker, I think) being able to put a (legal) shoulder in without Rashford's involvement. Walker, too, hesitates a bit since it's so obvious that Rashford is offside, but more importantly he plays the space to the left of Fernandes, expecting a centering pass from Rashford or a rebound off of Ederson.
And lastly, it defies reality to believe that Rashford's positioning didn't have some sort of impact on Ederson's decision-making. Even though the two converge on exactly the same spot, Ederson has to position himself to be ready for both a potential shot from Rashford or a centering pass from Rashford in the time between the pass and the two attackers converging. Were it only Fernandes, Ederson could have done something different to narrow the angle further (possibly assuming the aforementioned shoulder challenge by Walker) or come storming out to attempt a clearance.