Question Number: 25833

Law 11 - Offside 12/16/2011

RE: Under 19

DK of DM, ia U.S. asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25822

So to be clear...
the following scenerio comes up often in a game, and the handling of it is still debated after the game and at recert classes:

To make this clear, please consider the following extreme scenerio:
Defenders are chasing one LONE OSP attacker who is very much so chasing after a ball with every intent upon playing the it.
Say for example the defenders have put this attacker in an 'OS trap' and are now madly pursuing this attacker who is 25 yds down field from them.

Some say that the fact that attacker has caused defenders to chase after him/her, that he/she has indeed 'interfered with play' and flag should go up quickly.

Others say no, that since 'it is not an offense in itself to be in OSP' and that even if they have to chase him/her all the way to near the end of the field, and even though he/she is the only attacker around, you should still not raise flag until either the defender is close enough for the attacker to 'interfere w/ opponent' or until the attacker finally touches ball, but that the choice of the defenders to pursue attacker does not constitute 'interfering in play'.
Can you please settle this?
And do you know of any position papers that address this specific situation?
While on the subject, one more thing:
What do you think about that unofficial forward pointing hand signal sometimes used by AR's to signal when an attacker in the above scenerio is onside?
Cant's see it ever being officially adapted but I sometimes use a brief version of it myself when the ref looks over at me, almost as a sort of 'nodding' gesture, and also to help 'sell' my decision to keep the flag down. It also let's everyone know that 'it's on!' if you will....Bad form?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

1. Moving toward the ball is not an infringement. The charts and illustrations published by FIFA, the Interpretation and Guidance from FIFA, and the Advice To Referees all make this clear.

2. A FIFA circular from 2006 provided that if the referee judges that the ball cannot be played by any teammate from an onside position, the flag may go up before the player in offside position (PIOP) touches the ball. That has been confirmed in a powerpoint presentation on the fifa.com website.

3. In 2009, USSF opined in a formal paper (available on the USSF website) that the only way a referee could know who was going to touch the ball was to wait and see. The USSF analysis noted, however, that a player can be offside without touching the ball if that player has interfered with a defender's ability to see or play the ball. The closer the PIOP is to the ball, the more likely the player has interfered with an opponent.

4. Informal hand signals must be discussed in the pregame. They can cause problems when they are ambiguous or when the referee believes a 'negative signal' has been used and the AR wasn't signalling anything.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi DK
The key point in all of this is whether the player will in fact meet all the conditions of offside. If the player in an offside position is chasing after the ball and there is the possibility that an onside team mate will also play the ball then the flag must not go up until the PIOP meets the final offside condition of interfering with play or interfering with an opponent.
Now there will be situations were it will be absolutely certain that the PIOP is the only player that can or will play the ball then rather than wait the laws allow for the AR to flag for offside. Also in the case of a potential collision with say an opponent the flag can also go up early to prevent this. The fact that the PIOP has caused defenders to chase after him is in itself not enough reason for offside
Now one has to consider what is the difference in the early and the waiting flag situations. The only difference is perception in that the attacking team may consider that the AR by delaying the offside flag is the result of an afterthought or as a result of 'listening to the shout' for offside. The fact is that the PIOP will either meet the final offside condition or he will not do so.
I have watched AR flagging now in the PL for a number of seasons and it is noticeable that the AR tend to give early offside flags for the lone PIOP without waiting for the interfering element. That I believe has the effect of lessening debate about the offside call which seems more important that the slim to none possibility of an onside player playing the ball. Clearly where there is an onside player present the flag is always delayed. What must not happen is that an onside player plays the ball and the AR has flagged erroneously for offside because of the presence of a team mate who happened to be in an offside position. that is what the 'wait and see' advice has at its core.
As regards informal signals by the AR they can be helpful at times. If an onside player touches the ball then it can be helpful for the AR to perhaps keep the flag low or a hand gesture shows those present including the referee that he has witnessed the situation and that in his opinion there is no possibility of offside which can help sell the call.

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

It matters not that the OSP player is being chased by defenders. If the OSP player is the only attacking player with a chance of playing the ball, the AR may raise his flag before contact is made although USSF has said it is best to wait until the ball is actually touched if there is any chance at all of an onside player getting to the ball. Anytime the OSP player interferes with an opponent, the flag may come up immediately.

I personally don't like the AR hand signal indicating onside. Regardless, if going to be used it must be discussed during the pregame conference