Little-known rule that meant Eze goal was disallowed

Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze thought he had given his side the lead with a well-struck free-kick within the opening 15 minutes of their Premier League match away to Chelsea.

But it wasn't to be as VAR intervened and disallowed the goal, much to the surprise of many.

However, it was the correct decision - let the Ask Me Anything team explain why.

Eze has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window

Simply, the goal was chalked off because a Palace player was standing too close to the Chelsea wall.

Referee Darren England made an announcement to the crowd to explain the decision.

He said: "After review, away number six is less than one metre away from the wall as the shot is taken. Therefore, it's an indirect free-kick and a disallowed goal."

The International Football Association Board's Law 13 states that when three or more defending team players form a wall, all attacking players must remain at least one metre from the wall until the ball is in play.

This rule was introduced to the laws of the game in 2019-20.

The explanation at the time was that "attackers standing very close to, or in, the defensive 'wall' at a free-kick often cause management problems and waste time".

It continued: "There is no legitimate tactical justification for attackers to be in the 'wall' and their presence often damages the image of the game."

And so Eze's goal was disallowed.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

What is Ask Me Anything?

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.

Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.