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Subject: Off Sides rules

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Victor Zaiz
Posts:5

Posted:10/04/2008 6:03 PM

I understood when my child went from U8 to the U10 league there were some rule changes, specificly there is now an off-sides penelty.

However I am having a difficult time understanding how it works.
Can you please advise as given how the rule has been called during games I cannot see a legal way to get the ball down the field.

In one instance, I watched the offense dribble the ball down the field into the other teams area. The defense was on him, and there was scuffle as the ball was kicked back and forth within the defense zone, but the offense eventually prevailed (barely) and the ball rolled into the goal.
The call - No goal...off sides.
So I am left wondering if simply dribbling the ball downfield is and offsides.

Second instance, The offense again dribbles the ball downfield. Again there was scuffle with the defense in which the ball was kicked back and forth by all sides. The goalie ran to the edge of his box and jumped the ball. The goalie fumbles, and the ball rolls out of the goalie box. The offense starts running to the ball again as the goalie fumble means the ball is still in play...but the goalie jumps out of his box and onto the ball and gains full possession, the goalie is now on top of the ball a few feet outside of his box.
The call - again, off sides...free kick for the goalie.
Again, I am left baffled as what I believed was clearly a hand ball was an off-sides.

Third instance, The ball is kicked by the offense into the other teams territory. The defense kicks, but the ball hits another player and bounces further into the defense area. The offense chases the defense player down, and steals the ball from the defender. Play is stopped by the whistle.
The call - off-sides.

Fourth instance, the offense kickes the ball around the defender. The same offense player that kicked it gains possession again on the other side of the defense. Play stops.
The call - Off-sides

So what exactly constitutes an off-sides?
Given the calls I watched over the past few games, it would seem the offense cannot dribble the ball, kick the ball, or otherwise take possesion of the ball within the other team's defense zone without an off-sides call.

I play soccer with my child after his practices as he truly enjoys the game. But now I am starting to deal with some angst expressed by my kid as he is starting to feel that his team can't do anything without an off-sides call against them.

Please advise me here. Each of the above is a real instance from performance during the games since the season started, and I have no idea what to tell my kid.

Thanks.

john powell
Posts:11

Posted:10/05/2008 1:37 PM
Check out this website to get detailed explanation of the offside rule. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/lawsofthegame.html

Victor Zaiz
Posts:5

Posted:10/06/2008 6:19 AM

That would certainly address the third instance listed as it is quite possible during the dribbling of the ball that the offense ended up closer the goal line then the ball.
But the rules as shown do not address the other instances listed.
They do however clarify that offsides was not the case in those instances.

And I am left with the question of what to tell a kid that has enjoyed the game in the past, but is watching score altering calls against his team and does not understand what is going on.

Thanks for the website reference, I shall go through the rest of it to clarify the rules further, but I do look forward to an answer to the remaining question.

Brandi Ford
Posts:5

Posted:10/06/2008 8:34 AM
Do the refs understand the off-side rule? It seems some of them may be calling off sides when the forward dribbles around the defense. I have seen this happen and was wondering the same thing. If that is off sides then the defense could stay at the half and not let the other team even have a chance to score.

Tim Stadler
Posts:39

Posted:10/06/2008 3:39 PM

Most of us do understand the rule it is the practical application of the rule that is sometimes skewed. A player can not be offsides in his own half of the field of play. So a tactic I have seen used is for a speedie player to stand on his half or the side with his goalie on it. His team then kicks the ball up to space and rely on their speed player to run beat the other team to the ball and to score a goal. No offside if he stays on his own half of the field. It is also his position when the ball is played. Also keep in mind the ages of our referee's. In many instances they are not much older than the kids they are reffing.

Tim Stadler
Posts:39

Posted:10/06/2008 4:04 PM

TO VZ71.
I was not there or maybe I was I don't know but let me throw up some hypotheticals.

Instance 1. Just dribbling the ball downfield is obviously not offsides. Often a ref will hold off on the call to see if the play will develop in favor of the non offending team. In this case had the defense won the ball and started a fast break he would be taking that opportunity away from the team. It is also possible that the offensive team had a player offside in the scuffle. Something to keep in mind is that we are taught to be slow in calling offsides to be sure that we get the call right. As you said we are taking away an advantage and often times a goal. Because of that we go slow to give our minds a little more time to process the information. Another scenario is that the assistant ref saw offsides and raised his flag. They are at a much better angle to see offsides. The Center ref will almost always agree with the assistant ref even if he may be wrong becasue you have to have the confidence that they are doing the right thing and making the right call because as I said they have the advantage of the angle to see the offsides.

Instance 2. It is possible that the offside offense occured before the hand ball and the call was just slow.

Instance 3. It all depends on the position of the offensive player when the ball was initialy played. If they ran from an offside position to play the ball then they were in fact off sides. Again I wasn't there so I couldn't tell you exactly why the call was made I can only guess.

Instance 4. If it happened like that then no offsides but I wasn't there to see it and will of course side with the ref that made the call.

Final note. We all want a clean fairly played game where no one team gains an advantage over the other. However in every game there are missed calls, blown calls, bad calls, and no calls. Take into account the ages of our refs. Take into account their experience. We have something like 30 grade 9 (Recreational Blue) refs. we have 4 grade 8 refs (black badge). There are going to be games officiated by young inexperienced refs however they are learning just like the players. I know that those of us that are grade 8's try and mentor them but again they are kids. Lastly I invite you to do two things. 1. Take the ref certification course. It is only a two day class and if you worked a couple of games during the season it would pay for the class and uniform. 2. Contact me directly and we can sit down and watch a game together. I'd be happy to tell you what I think I saw and what the ref problably saw or just to clarify some rules. here is my e-mail address timothy.stadler@us.army.mil

Maybe we could arrange a parent clinic to explain some of the rules. What do you think Jon? I'd volunteer my time to do that

Victor Zaiz
Posts:5

Posted:10/08/2008 3:23 PM

I regret that I would not be able to take up the ref course offer.
I end up at one practice or another every day of the week, and end up at the games on Saturday.

My time is stretched very thin. However, I would very much enjoy reviewing the rules and procedures that our U10 league follows. This would give me a much better understanding of what is really going on during play, and would better help me prepare my kids for the games. With an understanding of the rules, my kids could readily discern a bad call or not, and move on rather then have a big question mark hanging over their performance.
Perhaps there could be a few pages on this website devoted to the rules and procedures followed in the various leagues...

Concerning the game, I would very much like to sit down at one of the games and hear your POV at the same time.
There is nothing that contributes to an understanding of trhe calls like having someone that can explain what is being seen giving a running commentary.
I will send an email to follow-up.

On a side note...I have gone through the web site listed previously for the off-sides rule.
I agree with you, the referees will on occasion make calls that the parents may not agree with.
But there seems to be a huge amount of information to be processed all at the same time for a proper offsides call to be determined. I am left wondering how this can be addressed as the opportunity for a blown call seems so much greater given the complexity of the rule. Thoughts?

Tim Stadler
Posts:39

Posted:10/08/2008 8:22 PM

The wording of the manual makes it seem like alot more information than it really is. One way to look at it could be. If the player gains an unfair advantage by being in the position they are in then it is offside. I've heard it reffered to as cherry picking in basketball where your tallest player stands under the basket and you whip a long pass before anyone can get down there to defend him. Just e-mail me the time you want me to watch the game so I don't schedule myself for one at the same time. E-mail is fine.

TIm

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