In a thrilling 2-2 draw against his former club Union Berlin, Köln's Marius Bülter netted a stunning goal—his first since the turn of the year. But the 33-year-old's strike wasn't without controversy, as a VAR review could have easily wiped it off the board.

The drama began when Said El Mala sprinted toward Kristoffer Lund's pass from an offside position, only for Jakub Kaminski to intervene. The ball eventually found Bülter, who finished with style off an assist from Luca Waldschmidt. However, with El Mala's positioning, many wondered: Should the goal have stood?

Match referee Daniel Schlager stepped up to clarify the decision in a post-match interview. "To disallow a goal for offside, one of three criteria must be met," he explained. "First, if El Mala directly played the ball—he didn't. Second, if he was involved in a challenge for the ball with an opponent—that wasn't the case here, as the defender was far away. Third, if he influenced the opponent in the challenge—again, no, because the ball was simply too far from the nearest defender."

Another layer of confusion came when the assistant referee raised his flag early, even though Schlager hadn't blown his whistle. In the VAR era, officials are trained to delay flagging until the play concludes, but this premature signal momentarily threw Union Berlin's defense off balance.

"This is an issue we're looking into," Schlager admitted. "The flag came up a bit too early. It's always tough for an assistant to judge from a distance who's actually going for the ball. He was certain El Mala would get it and didn't see Kaminski, who then made contact. I had it on my radar and told him, 'That's not offside for me.' He lowered the flag, and the goal stood."

Union Berlin fought back to earn a point, but the debate over Bülter's goal—and the officiating around it—will linger long after the final whistle.