Question Number: 26995

Law 11 - Offside 11/9/2012

RE: Adult

Frosty of NSW, NSW Australia asks...

Are offside rules different between EPL and UEFA Champions League.
Specifically when the linesman flags offside.
Does the offending player have to touch the ball.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

EPL and UEFA play under the Laws of the Game, and thus there are no differences in offside.

For the past several years, there has been a world-wide emphasis on what we in the US call 'wait and see'. An offside infraction is not complete until the player in the offside position becomes involved in play. A decade ago a player might just flinch and the AR's flag would go up - but not anymore.

One way of demonstrating involvement would be to touch the ball (or for the ball to touch the player, even unawares). But that is not the only way to be involved. If the player is interfering with an opponent that is involvement. A subset of that is if there is an imminent collision; call the offside for interfering with an opponent before someone gets hurt. Also, if the player is moving toward the ball and is the only attacker who could play the ball, offside can be called before the ball is touched. This prevents unnecessary 30+ yard runs, only to have offside called.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

Law 11 is the same. But, a player can infringe the offside law without touching the ball by interfering with a defender's ability to see or play the ball. That is a judgment call, and what is enough can vary by referee.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi
Law 11 is the same the world over. What does happen is that different associations have their 'own' interpretation of its implementation. In UEFA competition there would be many referee crews from many different countries.
Law 11 requires that a player in an offside must touch the ball to interfere with play. However IFAB allowed an exception whereby a single player in an offside position could be flagged without the need to touch the ball on the basis that it was likely to happen anyway or where there was a danger of collision between players.
In the UK this exception of flagging the lone striker in an offside position without the requirement to touch the ball is used extensively by assistant referees and IMO much too often. I see players in an offside position being flagged when the ball has gone out for a goal kick, throw in. Generally there is little complaint about those and it is rarely commented on by the commentator so the practise continues.
However it does create confusion. In a recent CL game the AR correctly delayed the flag until it was touched by the player in an offside position . The UK commentator believed the call was an 'afterthought' rather than correctly waiting for the PIOP to touch the ball. Some of the thinking on offside is still pre 2006 which is unhelpful