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The Offside Rule-How it's applied

Jurgen the German

Jurgen the German

Erik Thorstvedt
As an attacking player, it really annoys me that linesman will give offsides when it's level or even onside. If in doubt, they are supposed to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team, but this rarely happens. They are probably terrified of giving an offside goal, but I reckon you see more onside goals incorrectly being given offside than vice versa. I think there should be clear daylight, don't put the flag up just because part of a player's body like his right arm is in an offside position.

Does this frustrate anyone else?
 
As a defender I'm actually quite confident knowing whether a player is offside or not. From a playing pov I don't find many of them marginal - you either catch a player because he's thick/unaware, or you push the line up and then drop back goalside.

What really fudges me off though is the whole not involved rule. If you've played a trap against a specific player then he's very much involved, irrespective of what subsequently happens with the ball.
 
The offside rule has been turned into a complete fudging farrago. Not interfering, my arse. It should just go back to what it was before, IMO: if you're offside, you're offside. Flag and a free-kick.
 
Jurgen the German said:
As an attacking player, it really annoys me that linesman will give offsides when it's level or even onside. If in doubt, they are supposed to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team, but this rarely happens. They are probably terrified of giving an offside goal, but I reckon you see more onside goals incorrectly being given offside than vice versa. I think there should be clear daylight, don't put the flag up just because part of a player's body like his right arm is in an offside position.

Does this frustrate anyone else?
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You mean like Adebayor against Chelsea the other day? Offside with clear daylight between him and the last defender at the moment the ball was passed to him.

Let's be honest it's a devilish job to get it right every time. I will scream at the tv screen with the best of them but how can you see two things sometimes fifty, sixty yards apart and several players between your sight lines at one and the same instant?
 
If half a player is offside, can you give it? I mean half of him is onside?

In all honesty, the offside decision seems to change so much that I don't even think the linesman know it anymore, resulting in some ludicrous decisions.
 
mudshark said:
The offside rule has been turned into a complete fudging farrago. Not interfering, my arse. It should just go back to what it was before, IMO: if you're offside, you're offside. Flag and a free-kick.
Click to expand...

Simple in my day, two opposing players between you and the goal. If you were level he wasn't between.
 
Play on and review every goal for offside. Most goals have a minute of celebration anyway, plenty of time for a video official to look over film to check player was onside.
 
I've heard the quote, but not attributed to Nicholson.

The following is often attributed to Shankly, but that might not be correct either:

If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be.
 
Interesting examples today - I think Dembele should really have been given offside during Ade's goal (the defence played him and he went for the second cross), but Lennon was probably ok during Dempsey's.
 
Jurgen the German said:
Another good example today: Clint Dempsey wrongfully given offside. There should be clear daylight.
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Maybe there should be clear daylight but there doesn't have to be.

From my understanding the current position is if any goal scoring paprt of the body (i.e not arms) is 'offside' that is enough to raise the flag.

Problem with 'daylight' is the paralax view. Unless the linesman is bang in line with the last defender the amount of daylight will differ.
 
Lost Mango said:
Maybe there should be clear daylight but there doesn't have to be.

From my understanding the current position is if any goal scoring paprt of the body (i.e not arms) is 'offside' that is enough to raise the flag.

Problem with 'daylight' is the paralax view. Unless the linesman is bang in line with the last defender the amount of daylight will differ.
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It wasn't a change to the rule, it was advice from the FA (or maybe PL) to referees a few years ago. The rule is the same as it has been for years, it was just advice on interpretation.
 
Before attempting to change something, why not look up what Law 11 says, and Guidance to Referees from the FA?

Then ask why these things are not always applied correctly.

Then maybe more people will understand that whatever law & guidance you have, getting it right 100% is a pipe dream.

We would have fewer blokes given off-side if they got back on-side before looking to have the ball played to them. I give you Defoe ad nauseam & (yesterday) Dempsey.
 
Getting it right 100% of the time is a pipe dream no matter what the rule says.


In fact video replays are still likely to cause issues as quite a number of times we on here can't even agree whether someone is on or offside with additional replays.
 
Jurgen the German said:
Another good example today: Clint Dempsey wrongfully given offside. There should be clear daylight.
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It's not wrongfully when according to the currently accepted interpretations of the rules he was actually in an offside position just because you think the rules should be different.

I think the rules are quite good the way they currently are.

Spursalot said:
Getting it right 100% of the time is a pipe dream no matter what the rule says.


In fact video replays are still likely to cause issues as quite a number of times we on here can't even agree whether someone is on or offside with additional replays.
Click to expand...

Don't make perfection the enemy of improvement. Yes, there might still be some debatable decisions. But surely getting 95+% of them right and then accepting that there will be some still too close to call correctly still is an improvement of sorts.
 
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