Infuriating Law needs to be Understood
As a player going into or involved in 11-a-side soccer if you don’t understand the offside rule you are at a great disadvantage.
Over the next few issues of DTL we will expand on the offside law, but in not in every issue. We don’t want to bore you to tears.
However, if you do understand the law, you can make some very exciting plays or you can make yourself look good as a defender.
In the graphic, the defending team has moved out quickly after repelling an attack and left the opposition attackers in the white shirts in offside positions. This requires collective defending understanding. It has some real risks because in the end it is the referee, with the help of the assistant referee, who decides if it is offside or not. All the appealing in the world won’t get you anywhere (other than possibly being awarded a yellow card by the Ref!).
Back players moving out to support midfield and forward players with some protection from the offside rule.
First of all you must understand Law 11.
| |
XI - Offside
Offside Position
It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.
A player is in an offside position if:
A player is not in an offside position if:
- he is in his own half of the field of play or
- he is level with the second last opponent or
-
he is level with the last two opponents (usually on is the goalkeeper) |
Offence
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
No Offence
There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from:
- a goal kick or
- a throw-in or
- a corner kick
Infringements/Sanctions
For any offside offence, the referee awards an indirect free kick to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the infringement occurred.
That’s enough for now. Next time (not the next issue) we’ll look at ways of avoiding offside to give great scoring chances. And that is where this strange law becomes very exciting.
Offside!