This year's Ashes series has been most engrossing but one of my great cricketing memories was watching Willie Watson score his maiden Test century to save the Lord's Test in the successful 1953 series. Older readers may remember that Watson also played football for Sunderland and England. It couldn't happen today of course.
The professional football season started this year with the Ashes less than half way through and there is so much summer soccer nowadays. One thing about these summer tournaments is that they allow any new laws to be bedded in.
And that brings me to an interesting statement made by a television commentator at a Confederation Cup game. A player was clearly in an offside position when the ball was played forward to him by a team-mate. The assistant referee allowed the offside player to run almost the length of his opponent's half, waiting until he actually touched the ball before raising his flag. 'Not a lot of people will realise,' the commentator said, 'that the assistant was absolutely correct in waiting that long, under the new offside rules.'
So let me say first of all, there have been no changes to the offside law. What have been added this season, are two International Board decisions. These are guidance from the International FA Board, who write the laws, on how they should be interpreted. These interpretations have been floating around for some time but are now written down in LOAF, the publication of the Laws of the Game.
To understand the offside law, you have to know that it is not an offence to be in an offside position. Players are only penalised if, in the opinion of the referee, they become involved in active play by 1) interfering with play, 2) interfering with an opponent, 3) gaining an advantage by being in that position. These new International Board Decisions aim to clarify the interpretations of these three situations. I would just like to tackle the first two, as there has been a subsequent circular from FIFA following the summer games, "further clarifying the text" (their wording) of these interpretations.
'Interfering with play' the Board says, is when the offside player plays or touches the ball. So the assistant referee in the Confederation Cup was correct in waiting for the player to actually touch the ball before raising his flag. Personally I think that most assistant referees will still raise their flag when it is obvious that the player intends to play the ball, perhaps by moving towards it. I think FIFA do as well for they have issued this statement in the last few weeks, following "on field experience".
'A player in an offside position may be penalised before playing the ball, if in the opinion of the referee, no other team-mate in an onside position has the opportunity to play the ball.' Interferring with an opponent: The Board defines this, as preventing an opponent from playing the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent's line of vision, or movements or gestures which in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent,' An example would be a player in an offside position blocking the view of the keeper or in some way distracting him when a team-mate shoots at goal.
FIFA in their recent circular have further qualified that by saying, 'If an opponent becomes involved in play and in the opinion of the referee, there is a potential for physical contact, the player in an offside position shall be penalised for interfering with an opponent.' I hope you understand that.
I don't know if it's me, but weren't sport, life and the offside law, simpler in Willie Watson's days?
Dick
Sawdon Smith