Question Number: 26799

Law 11 - Offside 9/19/2012

RE: AYSO Under 11

John Sendrey of Costa Mesa, CA USA asks...

It was a GU10 game. The forward, who was clearly in an offside position had a pass made well ahead of her, so she had to run forward 15 yards or so to get to the ball. I saw the lineman raise his flag offsides. I saw the goalie run towards the ball to make a play to pass the ball to a teammate who was in a position to advance the ball up the field. I thought the goalie would get to the ball first, so I decided not to call the offsides since the offside forward, although she was running towards the ball, had not played the ball, and the defending goalie (also charging towards the ball) had a good chance to play the ball to an teammate along the sideline on an empty side of the field to advance the ball for a counterattack. The coach started yelling about the missed offsides call though I was waiting for the play to develop. As it turned out and as I had anticipated, the goalie got to the ball first and played the ball. The ball glanced off the forward but ended up with the other defender who started to advance the ball. I guess I got nervous with the yelling and made the offsides call though I regretted it since the defender now had clear possession and was preparing to advance the ball up the field. Not that I had to explain myself, but I explained to the coach that I had not initially called the offsides because the offside forward had not played the ball, and the defense had a good chance to play the ball for a counter offensive. He told me that the forward did not need to touch the ball to be offsides as long as she was affecting play and had gained an advantage by being offsides. Afterwards, he said he has 15 years of referee experience and that he calls offsides in situations like these because if the goalie would have messed up and the ball would have deflected off the forward and then into the goal, it would have made a 'complicated situation.' My thinking was that if that were to have occurred, I could have then made the offsides call.

What do you think the right call would have been? What if the ball would have gone from the goalie's kick, off the forward, and then into the goal?

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Your instincts were correct. Until the player in offside position (PIOP) did something that interfered with the goal keeper's ability to see or play the ball, the offside law was not infringed. It is not an infringement to be in offside position or to make a run toward the ball.

A quick whistle is always valuable if you think there is any chance of a collision between the keeper and PIOP.

The coach was wrong. Gaining an advantage from being in an offside position has a specific meaning under the laws of the game - - it is touching the ball after it deflects off an opponent or the goalpost. The coach's 15 years of experience may be experience 15 years ago. Lots has changed in the interpretation of the offside law.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
The first part of the advice that I would impart is that instructions to the AR as to when to flag / not to flag for offside should be given in the pre match discussion. However the AR has to make a determination here as well whether in his opinion offside will develop either by interfering with play or interfering with an opponent. IFAB determines that in the possibility of a collision between players that offside can be called on the lone single player running after the ball. In the situation where the ball is likely to get back to the goalkeeper or go out of play then the flag should not be raised
Now in this situation there was a possibility either way and that is a judgement call. If you the CR can see the 'no offside' possibility then the AR should see that also and adopt a 'wait and see' position. The AR can raise the flag if offside subsequently develops when the player interferes with play or an opponent. If in doubt about what will develop then call the clear offside.
Now the coach in his opinion was wrong and his thinking is dated. However he is not alone in this and I see this all the time even with colleagues who 'refuse' to move on regarding Law 11. Some are still pre 2005 when this scenario would most likely have been called offside. Indeed at the professional level in the UK ARs are flagging for the 'lone PIOP' in most if not all scenarios. Unless there is a player in an onside position capable of getting to the ball the flag is raised which IMO does not help the 'understanding' of players, coaches, spectators as it looks like a pre 2005 decision. Your AR was in similar mode which then 'supported' the coach's incorrect interpretation.
As regards the decision I believe that once the player in an offside position got close enough to charge down the ball then he has IMO interfered with an opponent and the offside should be called. That is a neater conclusion to the scenario.
Also I don't see any 'complicated situation' here as if the referee is of the opinion that it is offside by interfering with an opponent then the goalkeeper hurriedly playing the ball under pressure makes no difference. It is still offside.
I certainly would not allow a goal to be scored off this scenario as the player in an offside position benefited from that on his challenge for the ball close to the opponent.
So what is the learning points
1. Instruction to ARs on offside
2. In the case of the possibility of 'getting close' to interfere with an opponent then offside is the best call on an offside flag.
3. Once the PIOP gets 'close' then IMO call the offside. If you delay with a 'late' call looking for benefit to the defending team you run the risk of contact between the players and the decision will also look like an afterthought particularly on a flag or that you missed the flag.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

We in the US can now apply advantage to offside (it used to be only Law 12 infractions). When you saw the potential beneficial situation, you could have signaled advantage and yelled, 'Play On!' or 'Advantage!' This is the same thing as saying you saw the infraction, but you don't need to stop play for it. Not everyone will know it means that - you may still get grief for 'missing a call'. But now you can say, 'Coach, I played advantage.' And if the advantage does not materialize, you can go back to the offside infraction.

Given that, if there is any possibility for a collision between the attacker and goalkeeper, call the offside right away.