Question Number: 17982

Law 11 - Offside 11/22/2007

RE: Competitive Under 15

Joel of Fallbrook, California USA asks...

We have a free kick on our half of the field and the other team has four defenders playing flat, our players are lined up on the half field line along with the opposing team's players. I then take the free kick chipping over the heads of the defenders but our players dont move until after i kick and all the other teams defenders have raised their hands calling for an offside and the assisstant referee calls offsides

this happended all throughout the game until we just stopped lining up at the half line and about one yard away

why would they call offsides?

and why are the refs too easilly influenced by the players hand going up?

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

Perhaps your players were not ensuring they were lined up completely behind the line. If as little as a toe is hanging over the line, they are in an offside position. Or perhaps the AR is misinformed as to when the offside position should be checked.

From afar, we can't tell. We can only state that most referees are not influenced by the defenders signalling for an offside call. We make those decisions on our own. Since the decision usually comes a few seconds after the offside position has been established - when the player gets involved in play - it may look like we are reacting to the defenders. Similarly, refs who wait a second or two to evaluate the possibility of advantage before whistling a foul are often thought to be reacting to the opponents' calls for a foul.

Answer provided by Referee Chuck Fleischer

Another thing the referee needs to watch for with a team playing an offside trap near the halfway line is the opponents running nearer the ball than the required distance. This can't result in an offside decision because failing to respect the required distance happened first! In accordance with Law 13 the kick is retaken. The referee may also choose to caution and show the yellow card to those not respecting the required distance.

You should see how ballistic coaches go when this happens to their players. Those who live by the offside trap usually die by it.

Regards,

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

It's also possible the assistant referee just got it wrong

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

See Question: 17992