Question Number: 15162

Law 11 - Offside 4/11/2007

RE: Various Other

Larry Stone of Roselle, IL USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 15150

Following up your reply to my question 15150, one of my sometimes frustrations with your responses is a tendency to "assume facts not in evidence". Keith, where did I say anything about not staying in proper position as an AR? Yet you devoted the bulk of your response to positioning.

I perhaps made a poor choice of words since by saying that at the time of a touch by an attacker I look to see if it anyone is in an offside position, it led you to believe I'm at other times paying no attention to where the 2nd to last defender and attackers are. Nothing could be farther from the truth but of course the only time it is relevant where the attackers are relative to the 2nd to last defender (or ball of course) is when the ball is touched. We can look at them all day but that is of no account for judging offside except for where they are at the time of touches.

The point I was trying to make with that statement is that if, as is true the majority of the time, nobody is in an offside position at the time of an attacking touch, then there is no need to further consider the possibility of an offside infringement until the next touch occurs. Considering the number of questions you get about offside, this simple concept of "if nobody is in an offside position at the time of an attacking touch, there is no possibility of an offside infringement until the next touch" is clearly lost on some referees.

When I'm on the line, I'm constantly thinking "is anyone in an offside position?" If no, then no further consideration need be given to offside at that moment. Now I have spare "brain cycles" to devote to other elements of the game.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Larry,
well I do try not to assume things out of context however we are required to best quess at times. Still Kieth did say devils advocate which in my opinion was to see if your position could be defended?

Words do offer only a partial picture, often times even a wrong impression. Perception is merited based on, what we think we see and what we assume we know, not always correct but the choices are, you go with what you know and see.

I agree one of if not the biggest flaw in training is no practical simulations for the newer referee to be interactive. Time and money versus opportunity and need!

Whether we think or whether we see no offside positioned players it is only because we are tuned into the second last defender. The only issue I have with there is no one there right now, is not to get too caught up in the boring routine so that when there is one, where two opposing players pass each other at 20 miles an hour and you are looking listening for a ball thump that was 60 yards away then swing your head to see, it is too late to judge.

The single most important duty for AR is offside (the most contencious non decisions or outright missed required decisions affecting games) and if out of position you CANNOT effectively make good guesses. My instructions to ARs stay with the second last opponent and or the ball. You side step when speed is not required and you sprint when it is! If you relax you get caught! It is why being a good AR is very difficult. I understand there are times to coast a bit but to stay focused and sharp it is not always easy to dial it up and down, on or off.

The best in the world or one of the best is Hector VERGARA since 1993 from Winnipeg Canada. Surprise that a Canadian would be? Political appointments aside he has consistantly performed better with greater decision accuracy then most any other AR within the FIFA ranks ESPECIALLY decisions at the WORLD CUP level! In fact the paring of groups of national officials has hurt him more than most as he is capable of ARing for any referee anywhere in the world.
What makes him good is his attention to detail and fitness level.

The devil is in the details , it is good we are able to not be shy about pitching in and trying to find solutions.
Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Well Larry, you said you'd basically ignore worrying about offside until an attacking touch was made. How could you possibly be in position if you're ignoring offside unless a touch was made. I keep it simple as I said. Stay in position first and foremost. Everything else flows from that

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Larry anytime a referee delves into instructing or assessing the performance of other referees a proverbial can of worms is opened. The first thing one must do when qualifying as either is pass the referee test again, this time the state test and failing that, one progresses no further towards qualification.

As an instructor you can interpret the Law and as assessor you can determine if a referee's knowledge and mechanics are sufficient for the grade being held or requested. Before qualifying as either it is difficult to find credibility in either area. What we try to do is teach the "Referee Crew" concept, we want to get across the importance of working together and making sure the division of responsibility is proper. The assistant must spend about 80% of his time with the last but one opponent or the ball whichever is nearer the goal line. This isn't an easy task, in fact it is the single most difficult physical task in this profession. That very thing is what the new referee needs to learn, he needs to concentrate on being perfectly positioned at every moment OR be at absolute top speed getting there. Once that is learned THEN we can work on the kinks. If a referee assistant learns to be lazy on the line then he will have extreme difficulty in UNlearning this habit.

Things the club can do here are keeping spectators WELL away from where she is going to run, keep the distractions to a minimum and make sure the coach doesn't interfere. These things will help. Next is trying keeping the fatigue level to a minimum, don't over-match the assistant. Make sure he can and must run with the players.. In other words putting him on an advanced match forces him to be behind from the start and on younger matches he learns to be lazy because catching up is so easy. Force learning good habits then worry about his mechanics.

The first of these mechanics is NEVER flag unless you're telling the referee to stop play, in other words flag the offence NOT the position. Instill in the assistant the need to wait for the offence to happen when there is an offside player and one who is not offside going for the ball. Learn what the team in front of you is doing and if necessary keep him on the same team in the second period. Make sure his confidence is not broken. If the assistants are going to change teams after the interval between the two periods of play ensure there is time for them to discuss how each team attacks and defends, make this a habit just like being perfectly positioned.

Remember the neophyte is going to make errors in judgement and as his learning curve is steep, expect them, discuss them afterwards and show how to correct them. Errors in position are forgiven too, IF he is at top speed when out of position. If out of position and walking this is not easily forgiven and the only corrective action is get fit, get there and accept nothing less.

In your new assistants are chatting up the spectators, looking about when play is in the other end or otherwise skylarking a "boot in the backside", either figuratively or literally modifies the behaviour. When play is in the other end the assistant keeps position but 20% is on the last but one and the other 80 is covering the referee's back and the other assistants halfway line side. He must learn the importance of switching quickly between the two modes of operation.

That should give you a start...

Regards,