AR WAITING TO JUDGE OFFSIDE PARTICIPATION

January 7, 2009 by Jim Allen

Question:
I too am sometimes confused by the AR Procedure. Let’s find out.

Should the AR hold his/her position with flag lowered waiting to judge whether the OSP attacker becomes OS, while the ball advances, and then run to catch up to the ball or NTLD if the OS does not develop, or

Run to stay with the ball or NTLD letting play develop, and if then judging the OSP attacker to be OS due to delayed participation, flag it, get Refs attention and then run back to mark the OS position for the IFK?

My personal mechanic has been to hold the position and rush to catch up if the Offside does not develop. Reason being that 95% of the time I will be in the right position when the OSP attacker becomes OS. Or be pretty close and have more time if the Defense takes possession or the ball goes into touch. The other 5% ??? Of those few instances when I see the possibility of an on side attacker coming thru to play the ball, I try to stay with the ball and then only rush back to the original OSP if I judge the OSP attacker to be OS.

Can you provide any references on this.

USSF answer (January 7, 2009):
If your mechanic works for you, that is fine. However, we recommend REMEMBERING where the player was when the ball was played by his or her teammate — a few yards are not going to mean the world falls apart — and staying with play until it is clear that the offside has materialized.

The AR runs down the touch line, maintaining proper position with either the ball or second-last defender, and then raises the flag when the attacker has become actively involved and is thus offside (subject to the decision of the referee). When the referee sees the raised flag and blows the whistle, the AR makes eye contact with the referee and points the flag to the far, middle or near side, whichever is correct. The AR then moves back down the touch line to a point in line with the correct spot for the restart.

Note: There is no specific advice on the matter because it is left to the discretion of the referee to cover the issue in the pregame. The issue, simply put, is that the AR must continue to maintain proper position during the period of time between when an offside position is noted and when the offside violation is clear enough to be flagged. The AR’s position must be maintained in this scenario because of the possibility that an offside violation may not occur. The issue outcome hinges on identifying the correct location of the restart.…

Advice to Referees

OFFSIDE OR NO?

December 9, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I saw an interesting situation recently in an international Friendly (Germany-England). The ball had been pushed forward by a German midfielder, and was being shepherded by an English defender to the goalkeeper. A German attacker, who had been in an offside position when the ball was pushed forward, “interfered with play” – he reached between the defender’s legs and played the ball, eventually eluding the goalkeeper and scoring. I originally assumed the AR made a mistake (it was an off&on offside situation). I later considered, however, that “possession and control” by an opponent will “reset” the offside condition, which leads me to ask whether shielding/shepherding the ball counts as “possession and control” in terms of resetting offside.

USSF answer (December 9, 2008):
As you note, the attacking forward’s offside position could still come into play here. If, as pointed out in Advice to Referees 11.14 (Becoming “Onside”), the ball is played (possessed and controlled, not simply deflected) by an opponent, including the opposing goalkeeper, then the offside position must be reevaluated. If, in the opinion of the referee, the defending player had established possession, then the forward is relieved of the burden of the former offside position and may play the ball. However, if the defender is not in possession — in the opinion of the referee — the forward must be called for the offside.

In this case, for purposes of deciding if the defender’s actions constitute “possession and control” and thus reset the offside position decision, we believe the defender cannot be “in possession” if he is merely shielding the ball, assuming that by “shielding the ball” you mean nothing more than interposing the body without making any contact with the ball. In short, shielding the ball does not mean “in possession” in this specific context and thus the terms of Advice 11.14 have not been fulfilled. Decision: Offside.…

"Inventive Commentators"

“PLAYED ONSIDE”?

December 1, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
There was controversy in a game in the Premier League today where Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie was “played onside” when a through ball played by his Arsenal colleague Denilson was diverted to Van Persie by Chelsea’s Ashley Cole. The diversion of the ball, although slight, was from a deliberate attempt to play the ball by Cole.

Van Persie was in an offside position when the ball was played by Denilson (and for that matter when Cole touched the ball). The referee in this case ruled that Cole’s attempt to play and touching of the ball then played RVP onside.

Now as I’ve always understood it a player could not be offside from a pass made from an opposing player but in reading the offside rule nowhere do I see mention that the player who passes the ball must be on your own side.

So was Van Persie offside?

USSF answer (December 1, 2008):
In brief, yes, van Persie was offside. He was clearly in an offside position when the ball was played to him by Denilson and the deflection of the ball (if indeed it happened) would make no difference in the referee’s call.…

Law 11 - Offside

WHEN IS OFFSIDE?

December 1, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
Red team is defending an attack by blue team. A red player is clearly in an offside position in the center of the field about 10 yds inside the Blue team’s half, but not interfering in play. Suddenly the ball is cleared to the wing and the red team is now attacking. The ball is played to the offending red player who is now in an onside position on the edge of the PA. It is determined that the red player managed to get the ball as efficient as he did because of his original position and the speed at which the ball found him. Assuming the correct call is offside, where is the ball placed, at the edge of the PA or back up near the halfway line where he was offside? If at the edge of the PA, it seems although the red team is penalized, they have still gained an advantage because the ball is starting so much closer to the goal.

USSF answer (December 1, 2008):
The matter at the crux of the decision for or against offside is this: Where was the player at the moment the ball was last played by one of his teammates? It makes absolutely no difference where the player was before that moment.

Because the red player was in an onside position when the ball was played by one of his teammates and he than became actively involved in the play, a decision for offside would be incorrect and thus there is no reason for a restart. However, if the referee had stopped play and it is then found that the player was not offside, the restart would be a dropped ball at the place where the ball was when play was stopped.

This reasoning is reinforced by the fact that the player was in an offside position in the center of the field and not involved in play when the ball was played to the wing. It is perfectly legal to be in an offside position at any moment while the ball is in play and even at most restarts. What matters is the player’s subsequent involvement (or lack thereof) in play.…

Law 11 - Offside

FLAGGING OFFSIDE PROBLEM

November 26, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
The following happened a couple days ago during a competitive adult amateur match.

I was lead AR. An attacker A1 held the ball directly in front of me. The second to last defender D1 was charging hard at A1 (and me), but missed the tackle since A1 neatly passed the ball toward the half line. D1, because of his momentum and slick conditions, slid off the field, behind me and out of my field of view.

In a bang-bang play, the ball was then played forward by a second attacker A2 to a third attacker A3 who was running up the field. At the moment of the pass toward the goal, A3 was clearly in front of any other defenders that I could see, and almost in line with me. I could not tell — because D1 was somewhere behind me now — whether A3 was in an offside position

Question: How do I decide if this is an offside offense when I am unsure of the position of the off the field defender? Note that because of the speed of play, I did not have time to back up, turn around or otherwise judge the location of D1.

USSF answer (November 26, 2008):
If you cannot be sure of the position of the defender, then you cannot call offside. You might consider looking to the referee for assistance. (He or she should be aware of where you are most of the time.) If the referee cannot help, then there is doubt. If there is doubt, then there is no offside — and this applies to both the offside position and the offside infringement.…

Law 11 - Offside

APPLES AND APPLESAUCE

November 17, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I recently took a 50-question USSF recertification test. Two of the “official” answers seemed to deviate from statements made by you on this column.

The first question involved OS or not by two attackers standing apart at the top of the goal area during the taking of a free kick just off-center and outside the PA. The question stipulated that they did not move. Nonetheless the “correct” answer was OS, presumably for visual obstruction of the keeper. See your answer of 3/4/08 on this column.

The second question involved the r/s, if after a goal and before the k/o, it is discovered that one team had an extra person on the FOP.

The “correct” answer was no goal, if the extra person was on the goal scoring team, and goal, if extra person was on the other team. The question made no mention of any involvement in play by the extra person. In the absence of the latter it would seem to me that the answer is goal in either event. See your answer of April 2, 2008.

Thank you in advance for your assistance on this query.

USSF answer (November 17, 2008):
In the both your questions you are talking apples and applesauce, in other words, two totally different situations. The two questions on the recert test are not affected by the two answers on Ask A Referee or Ask a Soccer Referee. The one in your first test question involves players standing at the top of the goal area, and the scenario does not tell us where they are in relation to the goalkeeper. More specifically, we fail to see how an answer about jumping up and down in a “wall” or in front of a keeper can have anything to do with a recert test question about offside. The question in the item dated 4 March 2008 involved a player who stood directly in front of the goalkeeper and who, IN THE OPINION OF THE REFEREE, did so to block the goalkeeper’s view. And there was a caveat in the 4 March question involving “merely standing.” It was stated that “this would be acceptable behavior unless (a) the attacker moves as the goalkeeper moves (which makes it similar to such behavior at a corner kick) or (b) is so close physically to the goalkeeper that it could be interpreted as an aggressive occupying of ‘personal space.”” Neither is the question regarding the extra person in any way related to what was discussed in the 2 April answer, which dealt with an outside agent entering the field. Apples and applesauce; related, but not related, made of the same materials yet totally different.

Finally, without knowing exactly (a) what level test you took (7/8 or 5/6) and (b) the questions whose official answers you question, there is little we can do. There is no such thing as an “official” 50 question recert test — there is only a 100-question grades 8/7 test — if a state association chooses to pull only 50 questions out and use them for recertification purposes, there isn’t anything we can (or should) do about it, but who knows what other changes might have been made. On the surface, the official answer on the first question (whatever it is) sounds acceptable — if they were just standing but still obstructing the keeper’s view while in an offside position, then they were clearly in violation of Law 11 and should be declared offside. On the second question, the situation again seems straightforward and not contradicted by anything we have said — namely, if a goal is scored but before the kick-off restart is taken, it is determined that the scoring team had an extra player illegally on the field, then the goal would not count regardless of what role (if any) the “extra” player had in the scoring of the goal.…

"Inventive Assessors"

QUESTION REGARDING OFFSIDE AND PROCEDURE

November 6, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
Dear Sir(s), I was an AR in a recent game that was being assessed by a state-level assessor. While in proper position aligned with the second to last defender and monitoring for any offside infraction, the offense chipped the ball over the top of the defensive line that was playing in a flat-4 formation approximately 25 yards from goal. At the time the ball was played by the offensive player, his teammate was in an offside position and started to move towards the location where the chipped ball dropped in an effort to play the ball. There was also a second offensive player who was not in an offside position at the moment the ball was played who ran through in an effort to make a play on the ball. Normally such a situation would be a “wait and see” situation to determine offside. As the location where the ball dropped indicated (top of the penalty area) and taking into account the relative speed and distance between the defensive goalkeeper and the offensive player in the offside position, there appeared to be an imminent possibility of a collision between the goalkeeper who was charging out and the offensive player who was in the offside position. As instructed by the center referee in the pre-game, I raised my flag as a precautionary measure due to the pending collision with the goalkeeper before active involvement could be fully determined. The goalkeeper ultimately gained possession of the ball with his hands a split second before the player in the offside position was able to arrive at the ball and the player in the offside position did not become actively involved. As the AR, I stood at attention with the flag raised until the goalkeeper had obtained clear possession of the ball. The center referee did not see the offside flag and never acknowledged the situation. After the keeper obtained clear possession, I dropped the flag and moved on with the game assuming proper positioning for the ongoing play.

This seems like it was the right course of action based on the pre-game instructions and as described in the Guide to Procedures:

“If the referee misses the flag, [AR] stays at attention with the flag raised until the defense gains clear possession or until a goal kick or throw-in is awarded to the defense.” The problem I have is that in post-game discussion with the assessor, he indicated this procedure to be incorrect. This was a fairly complicated situation with many things happening at the same time, but he indicated that there can not be an “advantage” call on an offside infraction (which based on my understanding of the LOTG is a correct statement) and that as the AR in this situation, I should have stood at attention with the flag raised until acknowledged in one form or another (calling the offside infraction or waiving the flag down) by the center referee. Note, the assessor did not dispute the judgment of the initial flag raising to indicate the offside infraction.

Obviously this problem could have been mitigated if the center referee had looked over and made eye contact. Whereas I agree with the assessor’s general statement regarding advantage and offside, I do not believe this was a case of an AR inappropriately making an “advantage” call which is not within the scope of his authority, but rather simply following the instructions laid out by USSF for a missed flag.

Please advise on the appropriate mechanics for this scenario.

The second question that arises from this situation is in the eyes of USSF, does the pending goalkeeper collision decision trump the “wait and see” philosophy to determine active involvement when both determinations are required for the same play? The pending collision instruction seems to be a fairly common instruction given in many pre-games, but I can not actually find any reference to this in an official publication.

Thank you for your anticipated clarifications.

USSF answer (November 6, 2008):
If you have followed both the instructions of the referee — you don’t tell us what they were, but the fact that you followed them counts — and the guidance given in the Guide to Procedures, you have done all that any assistant referee should do in this situation. We are uncomfortable about the feedback given to you by the state assessor.…

Advice to Referees

OFFSIDE: AR POSITIONING AND SIGNALS

November 5, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I n response to a question of October 23, with regards to a missed signal for a goal and subsequent confusion, you wrote that “there is no way that dropping the flag and moving up field should be interpreted as an offside decision.”

I’d like some clarification of this opinion with a view to your answer of August 18, when you wrote that in order to properly implement the “wait and see” principle without disadvantaging the defending team on their restart or pulling the AR out of position, the AR should follow play until the offside player is actively involved, then “when the referee sees the raised flag and blows the whistle, the AR makes eye contact with the referee and points the flag to the far, middle or near side, whichever is correct. The AR then moves back down the touch line to a point in line with the correct spot for the restart.”

However, in the conclusion of your Aug 18 ruling, you note “there is no specific advice on the matter because it is left to the discretion of the referee to cover the issue in the pregame. The issue, simply put, is that the AR must continue to maintain proper position during the period of time between when an offside position is noted and when the offside violation is clear enough to be flagged. The AR’s position must be maintained in this scenario because of the possibility that an offside violation may not occur. The issue outcome hinges on identifying the correct location of the restart.”

The obvious difference between the signal for a missed goal vs offside is the AR giving the far/middle/near signal prior to running upfield. The latter procedure is covered in neither the Guide to Procedures, ATR, LOTG, or Q&A (please correct me if I am wrong).

Considering this, it is easy to envision miscommunication resulting from this procedure if the center has exercised his “discretion” in neglecting to cover the issue in pregame, done all too frequently, through levels of play such as PDL where waiting for a touch or impending collision to signal offside is imperative. This site is the only place where I have seen this specific procedure laid out; many referees would contend that the proper procedure is for the AR to hold position until the advantage is clear, then signal or recover.

While not the most frequently used AR routine, the “wait and see” offside is common, and miscommunication could easily have negative effects on man management. If this procedure is recognized as “proper,” should it be included in Guide to Procedures and adopted as a recognized signal? At the very least, it seems that it should be reviewed by instructors sufficiently that confusion does not result.

USSF answer (November 5, 2008):
Although we applaud your faithful attention to the various Q&As published here, the issue you are raising below is based on a false premise — namely, that these two scenarios are connected in any way. The potential confusion you point to could arise only if the officials involved acted in the way which we clearly stated was incorrect in each case.

In the October 23 scenario, the issue was the referee misunderstanding the AR’s correct procedure for indicating that a goal was scored despite the fact that the ball appeared to have stayed on the field. We said then, and confirm again, that the referee simply was wrong in believing that the AR had indicated an offside violation and, in that context, said that the AR dropping the flag and running quickly up the touch line could not under any circumstances be considered proper mechanics for indicating an offside violation. All aspects of this situation are clearly covered in the Guide to Procedures and Advice to Referees.

In the August 18 scenario, we were asked about the proper mechanics for the AR when two attackers are making a play for the ball, one coming from an onside position and the other coming from an offside position. This is fairly clearly covered in the Guide to Procedures and the Advice to Referees, but we also acknowledged that the subsidiary issue of properly locating the restart (if an offside infringement occurs) does not have a definitive answer in these publications because it is left to the discretion of the referee, who should include the matter in the pregame.

We said then, and confirm again, that the AR should be maintaining proper positioning for offside even though, if the offense does occur, this might place the AR some distance away from the restart location. If the referee wants assistance from the AR in locating the restart, the AR should move up the field but only after giving the complete signal for the offside offense. In other words, although it might seem that the AR is merely dropping the flag and moving upfield, this is not what has signaled the offside offense. The offense was signaled in the correct way when the offense occurred (all in accordance with the Guide to Procedures and Advice to Referees) and then, only if this is requested by the referee, the AR could drop the flag and move up field in order to assist in locating the restart. In the alternative, the referee may decide that he or she needs no help advising players as to the restart location and would prefer that the AR stay back where the offense was signaled since, in all likelihood, this puts the AR closer to where the second last defender is at the time of the restart.…

Law 11 - Offside

OFFSIDE?

November 4, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I have written to ask about the application of “involvement in play” by a player in an offside position. Specifically, three plays prompt questions. First, a fullback headed successfully a high and hard pass at the 18, rather than allow the ball to continue toward his keeper, because he anticipated and feared a challenge for the ball from a nearby player in an offside position. The successful header, however, was not as effective as a free kick would have been. Should offsides have been whistled? If the header had gone to a teammate of the player in the offsides position, should offsides have been penalized at that later time?

Similarly, a fullback stopped with an outstretched leg a pass attempted through the defensive line at the 12, rather than allow the pass to proceed to the keeper, because the ball would otherwise have proceeded to a player in an offsides position and that penalty may not be called. Should offsides have been called? Also, in this case, the ball rebounded to a stop at the 18. If that defensive stop had set up a very good shot for another offensive player, should offsides have been penalized?

Finally, a player who had been in an offsides position approached from behind the fullback who had stopped easily a through pass and, consequently, induced a quicker and longer pass than otherwise might have been made. Should offsides have been penalized in this instance?

USSF answer (November 4, 2008):
The answer for all three is that the referee (and the assistant referee, if his or her view is better) must decide whether the defender had clearly established possession and control of the ball or whether the play was simply a deflection of the ball. If possession was clearly established, then there is no offside, no matter that the ball then goes to the player who was in the offside position when his or her teammate played the ball. If the referee decides it was a deflection or misplay and no control had been established, then the decision should be for offside. The AR is expected to make a recommendation, based on his or her view, but the referee has the final decision. However, if either the AR or the referee is unsure, then there is no offense.…

Law 11 - Offside

AR POSITION ON OFFSIDE

November 3, 2008 by Jim Allen

Question:
I’m an AR in a U17 match. Defending team is pushed up in an offside trap. Offensive team plays a long ball behind the defense. Two offensive players — one in offside position when the ball is played, the other not — chase the ball. The “onside” player is a step or two ahead of the “offside” player, and will probably get there first.

1) Is the player in an offside position “actively involved in the play” if he is chasing a ball a teammate will reach legally before he does?

2) As the AR, where do I go? Do I follow the ball, or do I hold my spot just in case the “offside” attacker becomes “actively involved” so the restart can be placed properly?

3) When do I raise my flag? Do I wait the three to five seconds it will take to determine whether the offside player plays the ball, or does it go up immediately?

USSF answer (November 3, 2008):
1) No.
2) Remember the spot and follow the ball.
3) Raise your flag ONLY if is clear that the player who was in the offside position will beat his teammate to the ball. If there is any doubt as to which will get to the ball first, you must keep the flag down.…