Question Number: 17970

Law 11 - Offside 11/20/2007

RE: Select Under 15

Bill Bryant of Seattle, WA USA asks...

This question is a follow up to question 17966

Thanks once again for the (quick) responses. I am ever more appreciative of the challenges involved in calling offsides given the millions of permutations that could occur even with the few variables involved.

In this case, I did factor in that the two attackers, one onside (who got there first and struck the ball) and the offside player were coming toward the ball from two very different angles; the best position for a keeper to make a save would have changed depending on which player arrived first. It would seem to me that this is "distracting", in the same way that it would be for a recovering defender not knowing which of the two attackers was the "real" attacker and which was offside.

One other followup question and then I'll shut up: I was wondering what would have happened had the onrushing onside attacker pushed the ball forward toward the goal, such that the ball was now ahead of the formerly offside attacker. The keeper is in position to make a save so the the onside attacker turns and passes back to the formerly offside attacker.

This would have been offside, correct? Since no one other than a teammate had possessed the ball to take the offside away from the attacker (the initial shot deflected off a defender to the onside attacker)? In other words, does the flag go up if there is a deflection (no possession) to an onside attacker, and a subsequent pass from the onside attacker to a once offside attacker who is no longer ahead of the ball but was offside at the time of the original shot/deflection?

Thank you for your patience. I'm a new ref this year and enjoying the many challenges.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Bill as a new referee it will be easy to do this: dispel any thoughts arriving at an offside decision is difficult, it is not! Offside is a black and white issue consisting of two parts: position and activity.

Determining offside position is easy provided the assistant is looking and is at the proper location. Once position is established any player there can't get involved. If the offside player gets involved then flag and whistle.

The problem is new referees assume offside carries over after a second and subsequent touch by the attack. That touch is when to look for offside players again and any player NOW offside can't get involved. The positions of players change on the field and the ball is touched by the attack many times. Think of the assistant's job as being that of a photographer carrying a Polaroid camera.

Every time the attack touches the ball he snaps a picture, discards the old picture and looks at the new one. If there is an attacking player offside in the picture he can't get involved. Next touch, snap, throw away, look. After the match the assistant has one picture in his hand, the touchline is littered with old photographs and he is very tired from maintaining an exactly correct position.

The other thing a new referee needs to do is purge his mind from terms like distracting an opponent. To know a particular person is distracted means you are reading his mind, you can't do that. What the new referee must do is watch how players react to offside opponents, no reaction no offence. Further, if a defender CHOOSES to move in a specific way on his own and not the offside player doing anything but being in an offside position there is still no offence.

Offside is simple, don't complicate it by listening to coaches, parents or other referees who say it is difficult, it ain't. Look on the front page of the website and find "Offside Explained", click, print, read, memorize. Knowing that progression of questions will make judging offside dead bang perfect each time, unless the assistant is improperly positioned by as much as 18 inches or the referee just misses the flag.

Oh, by the way -- there is no "s" in offside.

Regards,