Dear Ref. Vangelis,
Why does it seem that "offside" calls always favor the defense?
Dan B.
Answer: Law 11 states that: A player in an offside position is only penalized if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:
- interfering with play or
- interfering with an opponent or
- gaining an advantage by being in that position
As we can see from Law 11, a player who is in an offside position cannot participate in that play. If somehow intentionally or unintentionally this player becomes involved in active play, the defense will automatically benefit and gain the call.
Most people I’ve known who claim they don’t like the offside law is based on the fact that, in most cases, the defense was bitten by an attacker player. Thus, due to an offside situation they regain the ball back. So by default the offside law will benefit the defense.
However, if the question refers to favoring the defense when a call is 50/50 or if the referee is in doubt, the referee’s decision should favor the attacking team and not the defense.
If this is not the case, either the referee is not acting according to the recommended procedures by FIFA or simply as it is stated in the question it “seems” to be the case.
Please note the USSF advice to referees on this matter:
Under the subheading “Making the Offside Decision”, it states that: “The assistant referee must not signal simply because a player is in an offside position, but must look for active involvement. Furthermore, if an assistant referee is in any doubt as to whether a player is in an offside position or if a player in an offside position is actively involved in play, the assistant referee is expected to decide in favor of the attacker; in other words, to refrain from signaling offside. The referee, too, must be certain that there is active involvement before deciding offside”.
Another thing we need to remember is that the opinion of the referee is the only thing that matters according to law 11.
Ref. Vangelis
For those of you who have questions to submit, I have created a new email address for just this purpose. You can continue sending your questions directly to Gianni at giannimininni@yahoo.com or you can now write directly to me at vbsoccer3@yahoo.com.
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