Question Number: 28259

Law 11 - Offside 3/16/2014

RE: Intermediate Under 12

Phil of Tarzana, CA United States asks...

This question is a follow up to question 28233

With regard to this offside question, would you ever consider the offside trivial? As the poster said, at younger ages, attacking forwards or mid fielders may stand on or just behind the line at a goal kick...but leaning forward so they can run. If they are on the line, then their heads are usually over the line, & they may be in an offside position as a result.

I would think that trying to explain why you called offside on attackers who leaned forward (but that everyone saw were standing on the line) & not calling it the next time (because they weren't leaning) would not do much for the game.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Phil
It is either offside or it is not. Sometimes a referee/ AR may be unsure of the offence due to the 'tightness' of the call. When that happens the referee /AR should err on the side of no offence.
We all know it is easy on paper or watching replays with freeze frame, imaginary lines etc. In reality its not so easy and a head lean may be difficult to determine as offside.
I also think there are times when the offside offence can be seen as 'trifling' when it has no effect on play. The trick is to determine those that do have an effect and to call those.
As an example I did a game recently as an AR. There was an offside situation where an attacker came from just beyond the defender, probably body width, to challenge for the ball in the air some five yards onside in front of the now last defenders. Defender clearly headed the ball away and due to the way that play unfolded not one player considered offside for interfering with an opponent. Now had the attacker won the ball I would have flagged or interfered with the opponent's playing of the ball. I simply ignored the offside as 'trifling'.
This phrase used to be part of the Laws of the Game

"The Laws of the Game are intended to provide that games should be played with as little interference as possible, and in this view it is the duty of referees to penalize only deliberate breaches of the Law. Constant whistling for trifling and doubtful breaches produces bad feeling and loss of temper on the part of the players and spoils the pleasure of spectators."
(Former International F.A. Board Decision 8 to Law V, now considered an integral element of the "Spirit of the Game.")
If you feel that the head lean " would not do much for the game" and it had no effect on play then ignore it as trifling.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

In theory, yes. A referee may ignore any infringement that is trifling.

In reality, no.

If the action by the player in offside position has no affect on a defender's ability to see or play for the ball, then the PIP has not interfered with a defender. A 'trifling' notion is built into the definition of the offense.

If a PIOP touches the ball, but the circumstances suggest ignoring the offense, the referee should apply advantage. In the US, we do not signal for advantage when it involves offside. The look and feel is the same as trifling, but the difference is that touching the ball IS an offense under of Law 11. The notion of trifling is that it is judged not to be an offense.

The following questions were asked as a follow up to the above question...

See Question: 28296