Ask the Ref: Do YOU Understand the Offside Law? Do You Just Choose to Ignore It?
World class, long time referee Keith Hackett has worked with famed artist Paul Trevillion on the You Are The Ref for years. Here is Hackett on the Offside Law and asks if players are ignorant of the rule or simply choose to ignore it.
A valuable offensive maneuver, the offside law always is a favorite topic of soccer lovers world wide.
In 1995, the International FA Board made some significant changes to Law 11 Offside by developing a more flexible but uniform interpretation.
They put the emphasis on the fact that it is NOT AN OFFENCE in itself to be in an offside position.
Referees were advised that a player in an offside position is only penalized if:
“At the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by interfering with play, interfering with an opponent, or gaining an advantage by being in that position.”
It made a big difference – but there was still real inconsistency in how officials interpreted what made an attacker “active” – what constituted interference or gaining an advantage.
What makes a player actively offside, and so committing an offense, rather than just standing in an offside position?
The IFAB released this further clarification:
- “Interfering with play” means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a team-mate.
- “Interfering with an opponent” means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.
- “Gaining an advantage by being in that position” means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a goalpost or the crossbar having been in an offside position or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position
My aim now is to look at this law from a Coach/Player perspective to help you understand how you can avoid been flagged offside which reduces the opportunity for your team to score.
In Soccer, You Can Not Be Offside if:
- YOU ARE IN YOUR OWN HALF OF THE FIELD OF PLAY
As a player, you should always be looking at your position and a small movement back into your own half will ensure you are in an onside position when the ball is moving out from your defense.
- YOU ARE LEVEL WITH THE SECOND LAST OPPONENT
If you are an attacking player then you should always be looking across the field of play to check your position against your opponents. If you are a defender you should also be aware of the position of your opponent and consider at times to push up towards the halfway line to try to put your opponent offside.
- YOU ARE LEVEL WITH THE LAST TWO OPPONENTS.
If you keep two players in front of you then you will not be flagged offside.
YOU CANNOT BE OFFSIDE FROM
- A GOAL KICK
So there is nothing to stop you standing deep into your opponents half of the field of play at your goal kick if your goalkeeper has the ability to kick long. By the way if the goalkeeper is going to kick it out of his hands then this is not a goal kick and you can be offside.
- A THROW IN
You see teams in England taking the advantage of this law when a throw-in is awarded close to the opponents’ penalty area. They will use a player who can throw it long and get him to launch it into the Penalty area with his colleagues standing on the goal line hoping to get a touch on the ball in order to score.
- A CORNER KICK
Players are often not aware that they cannot be offside from a corner kick so this is a reminder to you.
P.I.G. in short, a player is only offside if he
1 Plays/Position or touches the ball
Top players are always aware of their position on the field and will make adjustments in their movement to avoid being offside when they receive the ball, look along the line to check that you are not in an offside position.
- Interferes with an opponent
If you are in an offside position and jump up and down obstructing the view of the goalkeeper you will be penalized.
3. Gains an advantage
I want you to imagine that you are standing IN THE PENALTY AREA in an offside position when a team member has a long shot on goal – if it enters the goal without you touching it or interfering with play then the Goal will stand. Now take the same scenario but the ball hits the crossbar or goalpost and comes back out to you and you shoot and score….
You have gained an advantage and therefore the goal will not count and you will be ruled offside. The same would apply if the ball came off a defender or goalkeeper.
I have attempted in this article to address offside has a player and I hope that I have gone some way to improve your understanding of this law.
I would be happy to answer any further queries that you may have on this law.
Have a great festive period, but watch the food intake.
You Are The Ref is a cult classic comic strip in England. SoccerToday is thrilled to bring this to our American soccer audience and share these stunning portraits of soccer stars from all eras. For anyone who has ever questioned a ref’s eyesight or grappled with a clearly ‘wrong’ call, now it is your turn!
