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03-24-2006, 03:31 PM
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Offside Rule
The application of the offside law is best considered in three steps; Offside position, Offside offence and Offside sanction.
Offside position
A player is in an offside position if "he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent", unless he is in his own half of the field of play. A player level with the second last opponent is considered to be in an onside position. Note that the last two defenders can be either the goalkeeper and another defender, or two ordinary defenders. Also note that offside position is determined when the ball is touched/played by a team-mate — a player's offside position status is not then altered by them or defenders running forwards or backwards.
It is important to note that being in an offside position is not an offence in itself.
Offside offence
A player in an offside position is only committing an offside offence if, "at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team", the player is in the referee's opinion involved in active play by: interfering with play; interfering with an opponent; or gaining an advantage by being in that position.
Determining whether a play is in "active play" can be complex. A player is not committing an offside offence if the player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick. A player is also not committing an offside offence if the player touches and plays the ball that was last kicked by a player of the opposing team (it doesn't matter whether the kick is intentional or unintentional).
FIFA issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003 and these were incorporated in law 11 in July 2005. The new wording seeks to more precisely define the three cases as follows:
Interfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate.
Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.
Gaining an advantage by being in an offside position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.
The referees' interpretation of these new definitions is still proving controversial until this day, largely over what movements a player in an offside position can make without being judged to be interfering with an opponent.
Offside sanction
The sanction for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the opposing team, at the spot where the offence occurred. Some referees use their discretion and let play go on if the "offended" team already has the advantage or ball, in order to speed up play.
Officiating
In enforcing this rule, the referee depends greatly on his assistant referee, who generally keeps in line with the second last defender in his relevant end (exact positioning techniques are more complex).
The assistant referees' task with regards to off-side can be difficult, as they need to keep up with attacks and counter attacks, consider which players are in an offside position when the ball is played (often from the other end of the field), and then determine whether the offside positioned players become involved in active play. The risk of false judgement is further enhanced by the foreshortening effect, which occurs when the distance between attacking player and the assistant referee is significantly different from the distance to the defending player, and the assistant referee is not directly in line with the defender. The difficulty of off-side officiating is often underestimated by spectators. Trying to judge if a player is level with an opponent at the moment the ball is kicked is not easy: if an attacker and a defender are running in opposite directions, they can be two metres apart in a tenth of a second
Credit: Wikipedia.com
Offside Rule
The application of the offside law is best considered in three steps; Offside position, Offside offence and Offside sanction.
Offside position
A player is in an offside position if "he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent", unless he is in his own half of the field of play. A player level with the second last opponent is considered to be in an onside position. Note that the last two defenders can be either the goalkeeper and another defender, or two ordinary defenders. Also note that offside position is determined when the ball is touched/played by a team-mate — a player's offside position status is not then altered by them or defenders running forwards or backwards.
It is important to note that being in an offside position is not an offence in itself.
Offside offence
A player in an offside position is only committing an offside offence if, "at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team", the player is in the referee's opinion involved in active play by: interfering with play; interfering with an opponent; or gaining an advantage by being in that position.
Determining whether a play is in "active play" can be complex. A player is not committing an offside offence if the player receives the ball directly from a throw-in, goal kick or corner kick. A player is also not committing an offside offence if the player touches and plays the ball that was last kicked by a player of the opposing team (it doesn't matter whether the kick is intentional or unintentional).
FIFA issued new guidelines for interpreting the offside law in 2003 and these were incorporated in law 11 in July 2005. The new wording seeks to more precisely define the three cases as follows:
Interfering with play means playing or touching the ball passed or touched by a teammate.
Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.
Gaining an advantage by being in an offside position means playing a ball that rebounds to him off a post or crossbar or playing a ball that rebounds to him off an opponent having been in an offside position.
The referees' interpretation of these new definitions is still proving controversial until this day, largely over what movements a player in an offside position can make without being judged to be interfering with an opponent.
Offside sanction
The sanction for an offside offence is an indirect free kick to the opposing team, at the spot where the offence occurred. Some referees use their discretion and let play go on if the "offended" team already has the advantage or ball, in order to speed up play.
Officiating
In enforcing this rule, the referee depends greatly on his assistant referee, who generally keeps in line with the second last defender in his relevant end (exact positioning techniques are more complex).
The assistant referees' task with regards to off-side can be difficult, as they need to keep up with attacks and counter attacks, consider which players are in an offside position when the ball is played (often from the other end of the field), and then determine whether the offside positioned players become involved in active play. The risk of false judgement is further enhanced by the foreshortening effect, which occurs when the distance between attacking player and the assistant referee is significantly different from the distance to the defending player, and the assistant referee is not directly in line with the defender. The difficulty of off-side officiating is often underestimated by spectators. Trying to judge if a player is level with an opponent at the moment the ball is kicked is not easy: if an attacker and a defender are running in opposite directions, they can be two metres apart in a tenth of a second
Credit: Wikipedia.com