A&H

offside

wenger

New Member
Level 6 Referee
attacker 20yards or so in offside position; ball played near him, he makes no attempt to play or movement towards ball; defender runs back goalside of attacker & plays ball; attacker then challenges him. is he offside,? surely he has gained from original offside position?
 
The Referee Store
A player is considered as gaining an advantage when in an offside position as below so I would say no

  • rebounded or been deflected off the goalpost, crossbar or an opponent
  • been deliberately saved by any opponent
 
Last edited:
Gained (an advantage) in that situation is not the best choice of word. As pointed out by @Chrisp72 it has it's own meaning in LOTG.

There isn't much in the LOTG to clarify that situation. That is "how long should an offside player stay inactive?"

Here is how I would deal with it (and I think it is what football expects). Did the defender have at least one free controlled play of the ball before being challenged? If the answer is yes then play on otherwise offside.
 
Last edited:
I see what you mean; but attacker could stand in longway offside position all game & pick off defender after they gain possession
 
I see what you mean; but attacker could stand in longway offside position all game & pick off defender after they gain possession
As I said "one free controlled play". A smart defender would not play that in a way to give the attacker any chance to be picked off. And that would make the attacker's tactic a dumb one as his team plays most of the game a player short (being on his own doing nothing).
 
If he is on the defender as soon as he touches the ball then give him offside. If the defender takes a touch and dallies on it then that is his problem really, but generally you need to judge each case on merit.
 
We had a session on this and it’s really hard.

As above, you have to think if the defender has control of the ball before the challenge.

At higher levels this is easier as it’s usually obvious what the defender is trying to do, and they can do it, and a mistake, like bad control that allows a challenge, is obvious.

But lower down, mixed ability, where players don’t have complete ability... I think the smart thing is to err a bit on the defender’s side if there’s some miscontrol and a challenge comes in quick from an offside position. It’s obscure, it’s a horrible judgement call to make close to goal...

Thankfully over 300 games in (maybe 4) and I’ve never faced this in the flesh!
 
I see what you mean; but attacker could stand in longway offside position all game & pick off defender after they gain possession
They could, but it would mean they would not be involved in play for about 90% of the game while at the same time running at least the risk of being called for offside, so it would be a pretty pointless tactic to employ.
 
They could, but it would mean they would not be involved in play for about 90% of the game while at the same time running at least the risk of being called for offside, so it would be a pretty pointless tactic to employ.

Yeah you don't really see it in open play. At set pieces you used to see it alot when the laws changed. Attacker stands 6 yards from goal at the near post miles offside but not interfering with play as the free kick is crossed to the back post. Attacker wins the header and heads the ball to the previously offside attacker at the near post for a tap in.
 
Here is how I would deal with it (and I think it is what football expects). Did the defender have at least one free controlled play of the ball before being challenged? If the answer is yes then play on otherwise offside.

I think this was clearly correct a few years ago. And it is what I think the rule should be. But I don't think it is quite right under current Law/Interpretations. Under current interpretations, once there is a play by a defender--controlled or not--OS is wiped out. So the question is whether the OSP player did enough to be a "challenge" before the play by the defender.

PRO, the professional referee association in the US, discussed a related type of play in its most recent week in review. https://www.proassistantreferees.com/mls-week-in-review/week-3-march-16-17 I think PRO is 100% right on what current interps are--but I think it is another example of a "correct" OS call that just doesn't seem right. I'm curious if we will see an amendment/interpretation that either treats an attempt to block a cross/pass similar to a "save" or that changes from "play" to "controlled play"--I think either would improve Law 11 to make it more consistent with the SOTG.

EDIT: I should add that this is a level of nuance/detail that is not a great place for new referees to focus. Especially as it hopelessly inconsistent in current application and bound to change soon.
 
Back
Top