Premier League says Benteke goal should have been ruled out

LONDON (Reuters) - Christian Benteke's controversial winning goal for Liverpool against Bournemouth on Monday should have been ruled out, the Premier League said in a rare comment on refereeing decisions on Friday.

An announcement on the League's website (www.premierleague.com) said all 20 clubs had received clarification this week about the amendment to the offside rule, which meant that the Liverpool goal should not have counted.

Benteke's goal was allowed to stand even though his team mate Philippe Coutinho, standing in an offside position, attempted to play the ball, distracting the visiting goalkeeper in the process.

The ball ran to Benteke, who scored, but critics said his goal should have been disallowed under recent changes to the interpretation of the offside rule which say that a player does not have to touch the ball to be judged to be interfering with play.

"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," the league said in a statement.

The referees' body, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), had "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," it added.

Newly promoted Bournemouth felt particularly hard done by in the 1-0 defeat as they also had a goal controversially disallowed.

(Reporting by Steve Tongue; Editing by Clare Fallon)