Referees resource for schedules, classes, and information

Welcome to the Referee's Corner.  We have posted here various rules of the game to help you better understand this wonderful game you are watching.  As always. if you have questions about anything you find on these pages, contact Steve Clerico.

Hand Ball

It is neither of these.

Instead, the question of if contact of the ball to the arm or hand is a foul is not is one of mere contact, but rather did the player deliberately make contact (or not avoid contact) with the ball with that area of the body? If the answer is yes (and the player is not a goalkeeper in the penalty area), you have a foul; but if the referee believes the answer is no (even if it results in a goal!), then the answer must be no.

 

DELIBERATE HANDLING

The offense known as “handling the ball” involves deliberate contact with the ball by a player’s hand or arm (including fingertips, or outer shoulder). “Deliberate contact” means that the player could have avoided the touch but chose not to, that the player’s arms were not in a normal playing position at the time, or that the player deliberately continued an initially accidental contact for the purpose of gaining an unfair advantage. Moving hands or arms instinctively to protect the body when suddenly faced with a fast approaching ball does not constitute deliberate contact unless there is subsequent action to direct the ball once contact is made. Likewise, placing hands or arms to protect the body at a free kick or similar restart is not likely to produce an infringement unless there is subsequent action to direct or control the ball. The fact that a player may benefit from the ball contacting the hand does not transform the otherwise accidental event into an infringement. A player infringes the Law regarding handling the ball even if direct contact is avoided by holding something in the hand (clothing, shinguard,

 

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Soccer Offside Rules

"I do go to football sometimes but I don't know the offside rule 
or free-kicks -  or side kicks - or whatever they're called."
 - Victoria Beckham

What makes the offside rule especially complicated is that a player can be in an "offside position" without being offside. Two things are necessary to be "offside":

1st - The player must be in an "offside position" at the moment the ball is "played" by a teammate. To be in an "offside position", a player must be on the opponent's half of the field & closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball & the second-last defender.

 

Offside rule in soccer illustrated

Take a look at this picture. If your position in a match is like the blue spot on the left of the diagram then you will be standing/running in offside. As you can see you will be both in front of your opponent’s last player and the ball.

A player is not in an offside position if he is on his own half of the field (i.e. the half his goalkeeper is on), or even with the second-to-last defender or the last 2 defenders. (The goalkeeper is usually the last defender, or one of the last two, but he might not be; the rules just refer to the last 2 defenders & don't mention the goalkeeper). This is often difficult to call. (For example, if a player is even with the Second Last Defender & thereby in an "onside position" but runs past the Second Last Defender a split second after his teammate makes a through pass. The player is not offside because he was in an onside position at the moment the ball was played.)

2nd - The player must be involved in "active play" by either:

·       gaining an advantage by being in an offside position, or

·       interfering with play, or

·       interfering with an opponent

For example, if a player is in an "offside position" but not involved in the play, he would not be "offside". This can be a tough call & can be very judgmental. For example, what if the "onball attacker" is to the right of the goal but a teammate is in an "offside position" to the left of the goal? You can argue that the teammate wasn't involved in the play, but you can also argue that he distracted the goalkeeper because the goalkeeper had to worry about the possibility of a crossing pass & therefore the attacking team "gained an advantage by being in an offside position", in which case the teammate was "offside". In this case, the Referee's decision might depend on whether he felt the Goalkeeper was influenced by the player in the offside position. Obviously, it is a very subjective decision.

The penalty for Offside is that an Indirect Free Kick is awarded to the opposing team to be taken from the place where the offside occurred.

It's a very tough call and it's easy to miss these calls. (Even the best Linesmen in the world miss these calls). I suggest teaching your attackers to stay 2 steps behind the "Last Defender" and, if they don't have the ball but are running with a teammate who has the ball, to stay 3 steps behind the ball so they are less likely to be called offside. (The linesman's sight angle can sometimes make an attacker look like he's in an offside position when he's actually even with the Last Defender or with the ball).

Special Cases Where Offside Is Not Called: A player is not offside if he receives the ball directly from a goal kick, throw-in or corner kick, even if he is in an offside position; however, once touched, the offside rule starts and if it is then played to a player in an "offside position", offside may be called. (Note that the offside rule does apply on "free kicks"). A player is also not offside if he passes the ball backward, even if doing so leaves him in an "offside position". However, if he is in an offside position and the ball is played returned to him by a teammate (e.g., a wall pass), then he can be called offside.

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