Have you not watched the Premier League for the past two seasons? Assistants are told to keep their flag down until the attack breaks down, that way if the offside is wrong it doesn't incorrectly deny a goal.
Being given a lifetime punishment of supporting Sunderland AFC I am afraid as a mere underling the Premier League at present holds little interest to me at all and of the odd occasions I have watched MOTD or whatever I cannot remember a goal being disallowed for the reasons I have queried.I have to live with the fact that good and honest Gentlemen and Ladies who have probably been at their work anything up to twenty four hours earlier before travelling to wherever we are playing make on the spot decisions based on what they have [ or think they have] seen.
Sometimes they are right and sometimes they make a total rick of things so sadly from the standard I watch and given the same circumstances either the AR would raise his flag as soon as the player takes control of the ball or it just gets let go and rightly or wrongly the goal is allowed. Hence why I titled the thread the way that I did.
Football wasn't formed in 1992 and it goes a lot deeper than the Premier League but thank you for your response.
robbieg --just to simplify things for those of us who watch football away from the 'elite levels'.
Football at the 'elite levels' exists with a totally different interpretation of The Laws of the Game in the quest to achieve a game of football that will always be 100% correct.
Just be grateful that you can watch a game at the Stadium of Light with teams giving it what they have got and team of officials who may not be the best, however, they will be doing their best not to spoil the game and will give their decisions instantly from what they see and the game will continue regardlless.