The technical difficulty with the offside rule is that it applies at the instance the ball is kicked up field - not at the instant a player receives it. So you have to know both the relative positions of all the players and the precise moment the ball was kicked toward them.
This is a very difficult rule to implement because a linesman has to be literally looking at the player passing the ball (who could be 50 metres back) and across the line of the last defender at the same time - i.e. in two different directions at the same time. A player can be 10 yards past the last defender when the ball actually arrives and still be onside provided he was parallel with the last defender when the ball was kicked up field.
A camera angle (far from the pitch) which can take in both the passing and the receiving player at the same time is required, and TV Companies have become adept at providing this AND also providing a graphic representation of the offside line as if the camera was exactly in line with the last defender. Presumably there is some fancy program which works out the math based on the exact position (at the instant the ball is passed) of the passing player, the receiving player, and the camera itself.
It is arguably a rule which can ONLY be accurately enforced with the aid of cameras and computer technology. notes from no w here
The technical difficulty with the offside rule is that it applies at the instance the ball is kicked up field - not at the instant a player receives it. So you have to know both the relative positions of all the players and the precise moment the ball was kicked toward them. This is a very difficult rule to implement because a linesman has to be literally looking at the player passing the ball (who could be 50 metres back) and across the line of the last defender at the same time - i.e. in two different directions at the same time.
This is a very difficult rule to implement because a linesman has to be literally looking at the player passing the ball (who could be 50 metres back) and across the line of the last defender at the same time - i.e. in two different directions at the same time.
The linesman only has to be looking at both passer and attacker if he or she has no other way of telling the timing of the pass. Hence the transponders, and a beep in the ear when the ball is struck toward that linesman's goal line.
Of course, a player could head or chest a ball to the attacker, but they would not normally be so far back. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Offside_%28association_football%29 notes from no w here
In other words the video ref will only very occasionally be called on for an opinion.
Where an offside is flagged or an alleged offside is not flagged in normal play but where there are no immediate major consequences the ref/linesman should just make the decision as they do now without anyone having recourse to the video ref. Of course there may be some wrong calls made in that instance, but where there are no major consequences it is best to just let the play carry on immediately as now.
The major problems in soccer are :
In rugby, the decision to consult the video ref is at the discretion of the ref and is done when the ref is not sure about what the correct decision should be. It only applies to tries although video footage can also be used in disciplinary procedings afterwards for yellow/red card offences which may or may not have been spotted by the ref at the time. There is an independent "citing commissioner" who reviews the video footage and decides whether any incidents occurred which warrant disciplinary action or investigation. notes from no w here
If you pass the ball to the striker who will be one to one against the goalkeeper, the odds are that he will score. But he has not, yet. If he's called offside, wrongly (very common), he won't have a chance to show he was going to score. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
If you're certain there's an offside, call it. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
I do not think the TVO should be brought in other than at the request of the ref (NOT by team players or managers), and only if the ref has doubts about whether to award a goal, penalty, or perhaps a sending off.
Otherwise soccer is a game played by humans, for humans, with all the mistakes and errors of judgement that entails on all sides - which, unless there is systematic bias, will generally even themselves out more or less over the course of a 90 min. match.
The problem with soccer is that goals, penalties and sending offs are relatively rare and can profoundly influence the course of a match without sufficient chance for the normal random process of mistakes favouring both sides having time to equalise matters. notes from no w here
Football ruling body is a conservative group of (elderly) people who prefer to keep the game unchanged. One of the biggest changes was to allow two and later three substitutions (1965). My personal experience as referee in field hockey, the sport has evolved with many changes of the rules to account for new artificial pitches and the speed of the game. The off-side rule was banished which provided for ease of umpiring and a great increase in goals scored. For substitutions, hockey has the interchange rule which results in full match action. The game has always been covered by two referees, responsible for one half field and an imaginery diagonal to support each other in difficult situations in the penalty area. The most recent change adopted, after a year of experiments, is the self-pass. You can dribble with the ball as soon as a foul was called. This has further increased the speed of the game and decreased the possibility for players to start a discussion with the referee, because play has already resumed.
For football rule changes I would go for two referees, two linesmen, two goal guards and a video team. Banish the off-side rule, perhaps with the exception one cannot score a goal in off-side position. For a yellow card, send the player to a penalty box for 10 minutes. A free kick should be taken almost instantly and banish the formation of a wall of players which delays play for many minutes. Be tough on verbal abuse/harsh criticism towards referees during the match and afterwards in press comments by players and coaching staff. The FA should take responsibility when a referee makes too many bad calls.
The Association of Football Statisticians (AFS)
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."
