Offside Law Explained

by Johann Swoboda
(Reprinted from FairPlay Spring/Summer 1997)

The debates and differences of opinion regarding offside are as old as soccer, and they beg the question of why the points of view diverge so greatly. The reason lies within the Law itself, although it is very clear and unambiguous in theory.

The law gives the referee a great deal of latitude in the interpretation of the game situation, which means that the referee must always be aware of his responsibility in judging an offside position. That is to say, the referee must look at the facts and not theorize.

Please note that Law XI is a protective law. A player may be in an offside position again and again, but the referee may not caution him - only an indirect free kick may be awarded.

A PROBLEM OF PERSPECTIVE

The difficulty in interpreting the offside law is that the referee must simultaneously evaluate the positions of a number of players located at varying distances from him which constitutes a problem of perspective. It is clear from the text of the Law that the offside judgement must be made at the moment the ball is (touched or) played, at which time the player in question may be 50 and more yards from the referee.

For that reason, the referee - and the assistant referee - are allowed a certain period of hesitation to determine where the ball is going and whether there is any visible interference with play by the player in the offside position. If there is no interference, then this is a case of passive offside, which should not be punished.

IMPORTANCE OF THE ASSISTANT REFEREE

In this regard, we must examine more closely two systems that can be of decisive importance in the evaluation of offside positions:

1. The referee has two neutral assistant linesmen.
2. The referee is assisted by two club linesmen.

Re 1: In this case the referee exercises a monitoring function, i.e., control is better than blind acceptance. If, as a result of the assistant referee’s flag for offside, there are a number of reactions (players, team officials, spectators) or if the assistant referees appear to be performing poorly, it will be necessary for the referee to alter his area of patrol and - several times - visually monitor the decisions of his colleague. It would be patently wrong to support obviously wrong decisions out of a sense of “camaraderie.”

The responsibilities of the assistant referee on offside:

• The assistant referee should be even with the second-to-last defender - certainly not in a relaxed observer’s stance, but (preferably at the side) in constant readiness for a quick sprint.

  To express it differently, the assistant referee should always keep the next-to-last defender level with his right shoulder; permanently maintaining this imaginary line (constantly staying with the defender) indicates that the assistant referee is actively doing his job. An assistant referee who stands at one spot demonstrates as little activity as a referee whose sphere of action is in the center circle.
  

• The offside indication should be given - after an appropriate wait: Where is the ball going? Is the player in the offside position interfering with play? in two phases:

1. Raise the flag - whistle by the referee;
2. Indication with the flag of where the offside player was standing.

• The assistant referee can judge an offside position relatively easily, because he is level with the next-to-last defender or with the ball.

HOW DO MISTAKES HAPPEN?

• Flagging too quickly - because of its long flight path the ball goes elsewhere than assumed.
  
  
• The assistant referee misses a player standing directly in front of him - the most frequent mistake.
  
  
• The assistant referee does not see the ball has been passed back by an opponent - no offside on a play played by an opponent.
  
  
• Waiting too long to flag, so that the game situation has altered completely by the time the whistle has blown and the decision is difficult to sell to all participants.
  
  
• Disregarding the fact than an attacker is taking advantage of his position - a ball rebounding from the goal post or crossbar goes to a player who is standing (apparently passively) offside.
  
  
• Hesitant flagging - a brief lifting of the flag, indicating uncertainty and lack of confidence even when the decision is correct.
  
  
• Position not level with the second-to-last defender - the assistant referee is too far ahead or runs constantly behind the imaginary offside line. Neither position provides the optimum view for a precise judgement of offside positions.

It is the responsibility of the assistant referee to never underestimate anything connected with offside. Indeed, working on the line requires constant concentration and understanding of what is going on in the game.

SEEING FOR THREE

Re 2: The referee can not always be level with the next-to-last defender, just to cover the responsibilities of the nonexistent official assistant referee.

But he can through good positioning and running - quickly crossing the midfield; not waiting around at the spot of a foul when the restart is being made by the defending team; not running with his head down - improve significantly his view of offside positions.

He can also make a number of problems with offside for himself by not having a clear field of view: his sight being blocked by players, by watching the ball in flight instead of looking ahead to the spot where it should land, and by not running the diagonal that will assure him a better view.

During a direct shot on gaol, only the referee can decide whether or not there is interference with play by a player in an offside position. Here, too, an appropriate wait is always useful.
Offside on a direct free kick can only occur if an attacker in an offside position interferes with the goalkeeper by letting the ball run past or by interfering through movements, gestures, or shouts.

The referee must remember that the opponent/goalkeeper can only be bothered if the attacker is within his angle of vision.

REMOVING ONESELF FROM THE PLAY - YES AND NO

It is possible for an attacker to remove himself from an offside position by visibly stepping off the field, to show that he will not interfere with play and does not want to gain an advantage from his offside position. Reentry into the game is possible only after this sequence of play has ended.

If a player reenters before the current sequence has ended, the decision must be an indirect free kick (for offside) - not a disciplinary action.

A defender may not leave the field with the intent of putting an attacker into an offside position. In this case, the referee must decide to play on (i.e. not to call offside).


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