Question Number: 28204

Law 11 - Offside 2/23/2014

RE: Level 10 Under 19

Lee James of London, London England asks...

Hi,

I was linesman at an U11 game today, and I didn't give an offside, although thinking about it afterwards, I was 75% sure that I should have given it. It happened very fast. As I didn't call offside, play continued and led to a goal. The referee didn't call offside either.

This was only my third time running the line.

I feel awful about it, because the goal led to a draw and extra time and the side involved won.

My question is: in a case like this where I'm not completely sure that the player is offside, what should I do in future? Should I call it anyway and the let the ref decide? Or should I do what I did and let play continue?

Huge thanks,

Lee

Answer provided by Referee MrRef

If you aren't sure that there is an infraction, then you can't call it.

You will get better with more experience, and you will know where your attention has to be. Remember to keep up with play, and good luck in the future.

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Lee
At all levels of the game including the highest, offside decision errors have been made. It is just part of the game.
Here is a video of a decision made by Mike Mullarkey in the game Austria V Poland at Euro 2008.
http://www.uefa.com/trainingground/referees/video/videoid=1594012.html?autoplay=true
A mistake was made and so be it. It was not intended and circumstances contrived for that to happen. Mike Mullarkey has had an impeccable career as an AR. He had a sense that something was wrong probably 75% but he just had to go with the no call that he made. He would have been 'wrong' to flag it in his own mind although he would have been lauded for getting it 'right'. He would also have been sanctioned for that if it turned out to be the wrong call and a goal was disallowed.
Now we all know that experience is gained by doing the role and evaluating your performance afterward. If the AR is unsure then he just can't give it. It's like the hairline goal. There is no point in making a guess as that can be wrong as well. Obviously there is some doubt in the call and that just has to be accepted. Its an Under 11 game and players can be all over the field of play with no real focus on offside.
Don't beat yourself up about it. Just learn from it and move on. I can assure you the kids have moved on and are thinking about the next game.

Answer provided by Referee Gary Voshol

If you are unsure of an infraction, don't call it. You can't call it and let the referee overrule you. That will show the players that there is indecision on the part of the referees and could lead to some very undesirable consequences, especially in older ages, as the players try to work the referees off each other.