Question Number: 24585

Law 11 - Offside 2/15/2011

RE: Other

Peter Grove of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire England asks...

This question is a follow up to question 24574

Referee Wickham states that in the 1950's, 'An offside flag would go up if anyone was in offside position at the time of the kick.'

I could not say for certain if that was true since I did not start playing till the 60's (and didn't become a ref till the 80's) but I can state if that was the case, it was not in accord with the Laws of the Game at the time.

Throughout the history of the game, the FA an/or the IFAB have issued consistent reminders that being in an offside position is not an offence.

For instance, in 1903 when the FA issued the following statement: 'It is not a breach of Law for a player simply to be in an off-side position, but only when in that position, he causes the play to be affected.'

Wording with a similar meaning was used in 1920: 'Play should not be stopped and a player given off-side [?] because the player is in an off-side position.'

Although I cannot find a quote from the 50's, it was reiterated again in 1978: 'A player shall not be declared off-side by the Referee [...] merely because of his being in an off-side position.'

I have often heard it said that 'in days gone by' any player in an offside position would be penalized. Maybe so, but as far as I can tell this practice was never, ever suppported by the Laws of the Game.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Peter
A good point on the wording of the Laws of the Game and it was always part of the Laws that being in an offside position was not an offence. As you know through experience the implementation of the written Law is a different matter altogether. You will recall the infamous Jeff Astle 'Offside' goal for WBA V Leeds in 1971 when Astle was clearly in an offside position and flagged offside by the AR after a WBA player won the ball in a tackle moving the ball into the other half to run on to it. Ray Tinkler, the referee on the day, allowed play to continue resulting in a goal and the decision caused a pitch invasion and a player mellee.
While I won't say that it would not be debated today as offside it certainly would not cause the same reaction among the players but it does demonstrate the notion of being flagged offside in these situation even if the Law through it wording allowed the referee discretion as to what constituted affecting play. Most would agree that the written discretion was rarely used by referees and when it was, it caused uproar. I suppose one can say that Law 11 still continues today to cause diffculties in the game with what is written and what actually happens on the field of play.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

The reminder that play should not be stopped simply because a player is in an offside position has been around since the early 1900s.

My comment focused on the 1950's procedures for when the linesmen raised the flag to indicate offside position. (Leaving it to the referee to decide whether to stop play for an offside infringement.) The players knew to play to the whistle.

Today, such a flag would be a grave error (and has been for some time). The assistant referee must keep the flag DOWN unless the assistant referee is certain that a player in offside position has interfered with play or interfered with an opponent.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Ref Wickham is correct. At one time, the AR would raise the flag to indicate a player was in an offside position and then the referee would decide whether or not to penalize this as an offense,

I can tell you with certainty that as recent as 10 years ago, there were some older ARs that would raise their flag if an offside positioned player moved at all when the ball was played, even if the player was 40 yards from the area of active play and was no more involved in the play than were the spectators.

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

There is a difference between raising a flag to indicate a player in an offside position and making the determination that a player is offside. Simply raising the flag indicates someone who might be involved in olden days, but as always, it is the referee who gets to decide. I personally don't like the habit too many ARs have of raising the flag just because someone is in an offside position - it is confusing at best and detrimental at worst.

In today's world, if the AR's flag goes up, the referee will generally go with the flag (assuming correct procedures and a reasonably experienced crew). This is because the determination of what is considered to be an offside offense (which being in an offside position is not, as you correctly note) has changed to better reflect the intent of the Law and FIFA/IFAB's desire to see better and more attacking soccer. Training for referees and ARs has been intensive on this issue, and at least here in the USA, we are to keep the flag down if there is any doubt as to whether the player in an OSP is now involved in play, or to wait to raise it until we are certain.