Question Number: 26009

Law 11 - Offside 2/26/2012

RE: Regional Adult

Rowan Irvine-Roberts of Mission, British Columbia Canada asks...

This question is a follow up to question 25986

I find it a little annoying that FIFA hasnt changed the Offside signalling for the AR. The near, middle, far is a throwback to the days when any player ahead of the last defender was offside and thus the AR was signalling that it was actually somebody way over the other side that was offside not where the play was. Nowadays it would be ridiculous if an AR signalled far player offside if the play was on the near side and vice versa. So the signal is now redundant except in a few very rare plays. Just signal offside and be done with it.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Rowan
Despite what many think 'interfering with play' has changed little in the Laws of the Game over the years. Even when it was Law 6 it was not an offence to be in an offside position. What it did say was and I quote 'If a player who is an offside position advances towards an opponent or the ball and in doing so causes the play to be affected he shall be penalised' It also said that "If a player is an offside position but is not interfering with play he must not be penalised". That was decided by IFAB in 1924.
So while many think that being in an offside position was always called in the past that was not the case and the AR signal was to inform the kicker of the IDFK location perhaps the GK who was unsure of the locations. I agree that in most situations it is plainly obvious to everyone where the offence took place. However I would say that the signal is probably more relevant now in the situations where players have run a distance on a diagonal to interfere with play. In the past that was flagged immediately but now we wait to see who touches the ball first.
As regards its application I rarely see it at the lower levels of the game, while at the upper levels ARs implement the instructions exactly as laid down. I saw a video recently of a WC AR practising throw in signals in the mirror before a game so that he got the angle perfect. At grass root level one is likely to see all sorts

Answer provided by Referee Keith Contarino

Not sure why this upsets you so much. The AR has to indicate where the offside offense took place. Sometimes, there is so much going on if the AR did NOT signal near/middle/or far, the referee would not have a clue there had been any offense

Answer provided by Referee Michelle Maloney

The offside flag plus location of the guilty player is important information for the referee. Sorry if you find it annoying.