Question Number: 29054

Law 11 - Offside 12/16/2014

RE: College

Vasilis Machairidis of Agrinio, Aitoloakarnania Greece asks...

I want your take on whether the players on those situation are in an offside position or not:
http://postimg.org/image/ta7k2n87p/
http://postimg.org/image/fg7c78gq9/

Thank you!

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Vasilis,
As a still pic my initial impression, neither one is offside. Although the first one I remain unclear if the ball has actually left the foot of the passer as the moment of last touch.
In a static position we can look at the PLAYABLE body parts ie a leaning head, a trailing foot as the piece of the player holding an opponent onside or placing an opponent offside. When there is rapid movement, players moving in opposing directions, ball leaving the foot and timing issues such calls are difficult plus a poor position by an AR can turn angles into straight lines . Too close to call so I revert to 'When in doubt do NOT wave it about!' The flag that is lol.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Vasilis
As shown I would say that neither scenario is offside. Now we all know that ARs don't have the luxury of freeze frame, slow motion, action replay etc to make the call. We have all seen poor calls either way based on tight calls and situations unfolding that prompts the AR into a call or no call.
For instance on the 1st one, the free kick, the AR will see Blue attackers ahead of the Yellow defender at the rear who are then obscuring the ARs view across to the Yellow defenders at the front.
On the 2nd one it is so tight that by the time the ball has arrived at the feet of the Red attacker he may be seen to be in an offside position with appeals from the defenders. An inexperienced AR may be unsure of the moment the ball was kicked and the position of the attacker at that exact moment.
So what I would say is that still photos do not reflect what happens in the game situation.
Have a look at this test and see how difficult it can be
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?page=3156

Answer provided by Referee MrRef

Hi Vasilis,

There is an offside explanation on our main page yet no matter how one breaks it down this simple premise is often misunderstood because of its duality and criteria based demands to be evaluated, often many times, in rapid succession. A static still picture or freeze framed video on rollback is not a tool usually available in active play!

Offside is a delicate dance of a two pronged decision! A well positioned observant AR in co operation with a calm referee, who does not completely surrender offside to the flag but appraises his own observation to tie up the inconsistencies.

A multi faceted yet simple YES offside or NO onside initial response to position!

If the position is correctly established as YES offside, we are then looking for additional involvement criteria which affect a final choice of finding a player guilty of an offside infraction to finalize the equation.
If the position is correctly established as NO onside then there is no second part of involvement to consider.

It is quite possible to make a mistake at this 1st juncture which relegates a second stage balance of involvement as futile, not necessary but in effect or it was necessary but is not considered, given we were incorrect in our initial appraisal and got it horribly wrong. This results in a good goal called back or a bad goal allowed. If you pay any attention to WC officials, those who get these key decisions wrong do not get to hang around very long. You may recall the Mexico-Cameroon match, who disallowed not one but two perfectly good goals for El Tri's Gio Dos Santos.

We highly recommend everyone watch the video link included in our colleague Ref McHugh answer
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?page=3156

Perhaps it will help clarify WHY we often say, "When in doubt do not wave it about!" Serving as a reminder to players, the flag is ONLY a signal to the referee you ALWAYS play to the whistle!

If the official concludes rightly or wrongly we are in the second stage of the equation then the involvement criteria are applied as best as they are understood given the experience and knowledge the official has and the line of sight and positioning afforded to him.

The first one is a demonstration/teaching video supplied by FIFA!

(1) FIFA http://garcia-aranda.com/offsideifab/eng001.html

The second one is a series of MLS videos of recent offside decisions that highlight current offside thinking

(2) MLS http://www.proreferees.com/news-offside-videos.php

from our pitch to your pitch in the spirit of fair play and a very Merry Christmas

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

See Question: 29057

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