Taking Offside Back To Own Half Clarification Please

Hello Everyone,

Please can you help me with this offside I called as AR. I have attached an image.

Basics are: The Attacker came back from behind the defence to get a ball that was kicked forward from a team mate. He got to the ball as a defender was getting there and got to the ball first in his own half!

I watched and flagged from the position he set off from as he got to the ball with the defender.

My questions are these.
Q. Where do I flag the offside?
ie where he set off from, or should I have followed him down the line and flagged as he got to the ball with the defender?
The answer to the above question may then clarify where the indirect freekick is taken from.

Also, if I was right to flag from where he started his run as he got to the ball with the defender does the referee decide where the indirect kick goes from ie the set off point or where he got to the ball and which should he pick?

In the game the referee gave the offside I flagged and it was from the set off point. I asked him about it after the game, and he went with the set off point as the point when the player got involved in active play, I am not sure so I am throwing it open for clarification.

Your expert guidance here will be much appreciated. I hope it makes sense OK.

Kindest regards
Graham
(Just completed season 1 as referee and keen to progress and get it right!)

Offside is from where the offence occurred so in this instance that will actually be in their own half. This causes all sorts of confusion for players and spectators, but is correct. You will need to make sure you communicate this tk the ref, but they will decide where they want the kick taken from.

I've had this happen a couple of times. Love it!

You can't follow him all the way down to where he plays the ball, as you should not cross the half way line. Difficult to say for definite without seeing the incident, but as Viridis says above, the free kick is from where the offence is. The offence only occurs once he interferes with play (or an opponent) so it sounds most likely that this would be in his own half. Cue mass confusion when you (correctly) award a free kick for offside inside a players own half...

Kudos for a diagram, new favourite poster!

Agree with previous replies. Stick it up on halfway and then do some mime to the Ref.

RefereeX said:

You can't follow him all the way down to where he plays the ball, as you should not cross the half way line. Difficult to say for definite without seeing the incident, but as Viridis says above, the free kick is from where the offence is. The offence only occurs once he interferes with play (or an opponent) so it sounds most likely that this would be in his own half. Cue mass confusion when you (correctly) award a free kick for offside inside a players own

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Thank you for taking the time to help advise me. Kindest regards Graham

FirsFox40 said:

Kudos for a diagram, new favourite poster!

Agree with previous replies. Stick it up on halfway and then do some mime to the Ref.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your help. To be clear, do I run to the halfway line and flag, or flag where he ran from (as shown in the drawing (AR)), but indicate by pointing etc were the offence is? - I hope this makes sense. So am I running to halfway line or stay put flag and point?

Dont worry about where you flag, that's not really relevant. The referee should take control on restart position in this case. Just flag from the position you are in when the offence happens.

99% of the time we are level with the offender as our position should be with 2nd rearmost defender or the ball, whichever is closer to the goal thus we are usually in parallel/adjacent (never know which one is right) to where the offence happens. This, very rare, scenario means we can't be in line with the offence. A good referee will spot this and manage accordingly.

Agree with @FirsFox40 - great effort with the diagram

Best practice process

1. Stay with second last defender until you are ready for first signal of offside (flag up). This could mean moving further up field after the attacker has set off. Freezing in your spot before the actual offence has happened has negative consequences.
2. As soon as the attacker interferes with play/opponent, (stop if you are moving) and flag up (first signal)
3. Wait until referee stops play. And keep eye contact with him.
4. Run to the location in line to where the interference occured. In OP case the nearest possible for AR which is half way line. (You see changing location after first signal a lot in the delayed flag for VAR on TV)
5. Signal the second offside flag signal. Flag forward, near, middle or far side.
6. If the interference is significantly inside own half (more than a couple of yards), use body language and/or voice to communicate to referee to indicate where the offence was (suggesting where the free kick is to be taken).
7. If the location of interference and where you flagged the first signal are not significantly different, skip step 4. Second signal follows as soon as referee stops play.
8. Referee decides where the free kick is. (If you don't agree with it, be discrete but ultimately go with his call)

one said:

Best practice process

1. Stay with second last defender until you are ready for first signal of offside (flag up). This could mean moving further up field after the attacker has set off. Freezing in your spot before the actual offence has happened has negative consequences.
2. As soon as the attacker interferes with play/opponent, (stop if you are moving) and flag up (first signal)
3. Wait until referee stops play. And keep eye contact with him.
4. Run to the location in line to where the interference occured. In OP case the nearest possible for AR which is half way line. (You see changing location after first signal a lot in the delayed flag for VAR on TV)
5. Signal the second offside flag signal. Flag forward, near, middle or far side.
6. If the interference is significantly inside own half (more than a couple of yards), use body language and/or voice to communicate to referee to indicate where the offence was (suggesting where the free kick is to be taken).
7. If the location of interference and where you flagged the first signal are not significantly different, skip step 4. Second signal follows as soon as referee stops play.
8. Referee decides where the free kick is. (If you don't agree with it, be discrete but ultimately go with his call)

Click to expand...

Aren't 2 and 4 the same spot? The point where the interference takes place.

I get the VAR reference, but that is because they are allowing play to continue and will then flag after the play has fully concluded. In that case youu will almost definitely be returning to a different position.

Viridis1886 said:

Aren't 2 and 4 the same spot? The point where the interference takes place.

I get the VAR reference, but that is because they are allowing play to continue and will then flag after the play has fully concluded. In that case youu will almost definitely be returning to a different position.

Click to expand...

No.

As an example. The ball is kicked to a team mate in offside position say by their GK. At this time second last defender and AR are in a spot and remain there for the next few seconds, say 20 yards from half way Line. The offside player runs some distance and plays the ball 10 yards away from half way line. At this time, he AR raises flag still 20 yards from half way line (point 2) to ask referee to stop play. Then runs to 10 yards away from half way line (point 4) to indicate the location.

JamesL said:

Dont worry about where you flag, that's not really relevant. The referee should take control on restart position in this case. Just flag from the position you are in when the offence happens.

99% of the time we are level with the offender as our position should be with 2nd rearmost defender or the ball, whichever is closer to the goal thus we are usually in parallel/adjacent (never know which one is right) to where the offence happens. This, very rare, scenario means we can't be in line with the offence. A good referee will spot this and manage accordingly.

Agree with @FirsFox40 - great effort with the diagram

Click to expand...

Great. Thank you for the help and advice. All the best Graham

one said:

Best practice process

1. Stay with second last defender until you are ready for first signal of offside (flag up). This could mean moving further up field after the attacker has set off. Freezing in your spot before the actual offence has happened has negative consequences.
2. As soon as the attacker interferes with play/opponent, (stop if you are moving) and flag up (first signal)
3. Wait until referee stops play. And keep eye contact with him.
4. Run to the location in line to where the interference occured. In OP case the nearest possible for AR which is half way line. (You see changing location after first signal a lot in the delayed flag for VAR on TV)
5. Signal the second offside flag signal. Flag forward, near, middle or far side.
6. If the interference is significantly inside own half (more than a couple of yards), use body language and/or voice to communicate to referee to indicate where the offence was (suggesting where the free kick is to be taken).
7. If the location of interference and where you flagged the first signal are not significantly different, skip step 4. Second signal follows as soon as referee stops play.
8. Referee decides where the free kick is. (If you don't agree with it, be discrete but ultimately go with his call)

Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to help advise me. Great bullet points. So to check I understand - Flag to stop play, move nearer, flag again and point/explain with actions to ref where the interference took place whilst remaining at halfway line in this case indicating near/mid/far side as usual simultaneously. All the best Graham

Graham B said:

Thank you for taking the time to help advise me. Great bullet points. So to check I understand - Flag to stop play, move nearer, flag again and point/explain with actions to ref where the interference took place whilst remaining at halfway line in this case indicating near/mid/far side as usual simultaneously. All the best Graham

Click to expand...

Yes. Thankfully these don't happen often. 99% of the time, where you flag up is close enough to not have to change location. And as mentioned before, a good referee would be looking for this and mange it well.
All the best Graham

Move to the halfway line and watch what the players do.
Insisting it's taken in the right place will cause problems.
Even at the professional level they don't understand this part of law.

99% of the time they will set it up inside their own half.
If teams want to take a free kick further back we normally let them get on with it...



.

IMO, the reason why the 'world of football' struggles with situations like these is that the single word "offside" is glibly used to describe two different concepts, leading to mass confusion. The penny dropping moment for many (players, spectators and referees alike) is when you completely get the distinction between offside position and offside offence and try to avoid using the single word "offside" without clarification.

@one , great description of the best practice process! I'd add in 3b .. do the 'windscreen wiper' signal to communicate a 'coming back' offside and then at #5, our guidance is NOT to do the second part signal IF the FK is in the player's own half ... think the theory goes that you would then be pointing to the incorrect location on the field, as the free kick is not on halfway where you are standing.