offside or not ?

[CecilOne]

The point about "where was the attacking player when the ball was kicked toward the goal" on the free kick is correct.

The "side judge", aka linesman/AR in soccer, should very definitely have known the answer as that, and goal or not, are his/her primary responsibilities in that situation.

If they decided "good goal because once the ball hit the goalie hit cancelled any possible offside"; and the player was in an offside position when the ball was played; then they were wrong.

For your edification, an offside position is when the attacking player is nearer the goal line than the ball and nearer the goal line than at least two defenders. It is not an infraction unless the "offside position" player is actively involved in the play (e.g., receives the ball) or interferes with an opponent.