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You Make the Call: Is Berbatov Offside? (NOTE: Image has been Photoshopped)

I attended a local referee’s meeting recently, where one of the topics was (of course) Offside. Ignoring the fact that many of the speakers like to call it “Offsides,” one specific scenario did spark a huge debate among the 100+ refs in attendance that night.

The speaker in charge of going through the slide show presentation with us showed us the scene. At the moment the ball is played, the Assistant Referee should take a “snapshot” of the players in his mind. In this snapshot, the defender was standing straight up, and the attacker in question was leaning forward and running towards goal, much like Dimitar Berbatov in the image you see above (NOTE: I Photoshopped the image to better reflect the scenario. I also moved Rooney forward so i could make the image larger!).

There were many in the room who said that if the attacker became involved in play, they would raise the flag for offside. The stated reason was that the attacker’s head and chest are behind the second last defender (we always ignore the arms when determining offside position).

There were also many in the room who said that they would keep the flag down. Their reasons included the infraction being considered doubtful because it is so close, and that if there is a hint of doubt, they would tend to favor the attack rather than potentially raise the flag and end up being wrong.

The speaker, who I assume is an experienced ref, shocked us all by saying that he would keep the flag down because there has to be daylight between the defender and the attacker to make the offside call!

So, what do you think? Do you raise the flag for offside, or do you keep the flag down?

Regardless of your interpretation of offside position, it is of the utmost importance to stay perfectly in line with the second last defender at all times. Being one step behind or ahead can be the difference between being heralded as a fantastic official, or being the entire stadium’s worst enemy as you call back a perfectly legitimate goal!

Click below and tell us what you think.

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I saw an interview posted in the examiner, and thought I’d share it here. Even though the referee stays anonymous, there are still some great insights. A lot of what the referee says is exactly what I’m thinking when I’m in the center, but wouldn’t necessary admit (like the crowd having an effect on me, whether positive or negative)! The interview is posted below.

Source: The Examiner

An MLS Referee and Freddie Ljungberg at Qwest Field in Seattle

Do referees use atmosphere / crowd excitement to maintain adrenaline like players do?
MLS Referee: Oh, yes. The adrenaline starts to build during warm-ups and peaks in the tunnel, right before you march out with the teams. There is a lot to do in the tunnel leading up to that, like quickly checking the players uniforms, shin guards, jewelry, etc., and talking a bit with the key players and maybe the coaches to get a feel for how their mind-set is that day, so we are rushing to get that done. And then when we are ready, and we pause for the music to start, the adrenaline really kicks in. Qwest field is amazing that way – the rhythmic clapping to bring the teams on is outstanding, and the noise seems to keep you going all the way through the 90th minute and beyond. The crowd energy carries you and you really don’t feel tired until you hit the locker room. That’s when your body starts asking what you did to it.

What makes your job harder, and why?

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