Bainbridge Island Youth Soccer Club

One of the most disturbing issues for spectators is to see offside and handball not called. As a parent I had lots of trouble with this, so I decided to consult a friend who has much experience with these situations. He volunteered to go with me to one of my child’s games and offered at certain times to explain to me what I saw and thought was wrong. For instance, I saw an attacking player closer to my son’s team’s goal line than two of our defenders and he received the ball from his teammate. Hence, I assumed the opponent was offside and I yelled to the AR asking if he was watching the same game as I was.

My friend laughed at me. I asked him, “What is wrong with you? Are you blind?” My friend said to me, “Young man did you see when the opponent’s teammate struck the ball?” I said yes, and then he further asked me – “Did you see where the receiver was when their teammate struck the ball?”  At this time I wanted to say yes, but I did not really see it. So I said no to him. He then said, “My friend offside is a judgment call based on three conditions 1.) The player receiving the ball must be at the moment the ball was touched by their teammate on the opponent’s side or opponent’s half of the field. 2.) The receiving team mate must be closer to the opponent’s goal line than two defending team players and 3.) The player must be ahead of the ball. So he said I saw the player receiving the ball but when it was kicked he was in line with one of the defenders or onside, but took off so fast that when he received the ball it appeared as if he was offside. He further explained that the ball takes time to get to the player and if the defender decides to run forward instead of backward to prevent the attacker it appears as if the attacker was in an offside position. So before we accuse the AR we have to be sure that we are observing both the striker and the receiver at the same time.

However, he added, “People do not know how tough it is to do this- observing two players or keeping close eyes on two players far from each other at the same time.”  He further said, If any one of these three conditions is missing, there can be no offside at all. I then asked him another question about calling a player offside when he is far from play but the ball is deflected to him or he moves towards the ball.  He said, “You mean the player was probably in an offside position when this happened?” I then replied “Yes”. He said, “You know you are free to take up any position on the field even offside position, but it is not a license to abuse that position. The law prevents you as such to receive a deflected ball be it from a defender, a goal post or a goalkeeper. This is gaining advantage as a result of your position. Furthermore, you are not allowed to interfere with your opponent as a result of your position.” With that he said, “Big guy let us watch the game and enjoy it, there is much on offside that we can discuss in the future. So I thanked him for his help and proceeded to watch the game.

Having just thanked my friend, I wasted no time asking him about the handball the referee just missed. I shouted loudly to the referee, “Are you blind?”, “Didn’t you see the handball? The play was in front of you!” My friend said to me, “You are unbelievable.”  I said, “Didn’t you see the handball even from where we are sitting?” My friend said to me, “Let’s break this down:  1.) the referee was closer to the action than we were, 2.) the player did not play the ball, but in this case the ball played the hand due to the proximity of the attacking player, speed of the ball and time of reaction of the defensive player.” He then compared this action to a series of pendulums; one pendulum [the hand] struck on one side by another pendulum [the ball.] In other word, he said “It’s like two pendulums striking each other. Only one moves backward from the opposite side indicating a strike from the other side. When the ball strikes the hand and if the hand moves backward, it is an indication that the player is not playing the ball. However, if the player’s hand moves forward instead of backwards, the player is therefore controlling the ball. Keep in mind this applies only when the hand assumes a natural position.” He further explained that a handball is visible because we can see the player’s control of the ball. He also said players nowadays do expand their bodies or make themselves bigger than normal in order to prevent further ball movement. In this way a ball striking the hand would be considered a handball and that the placing of the hand in a non natural position could constitute a handball if struck by the ball while in that position. My wise soccer and referee friend also explained that referees consider other circumstances which presently need not concern me until I become a referee.